cutscene

noun

cut·​scene ˈkət-ˌsēn 

variants or less commonly cut-scene or cut scene

plural cutscenes also cut-scenes or cut scenes

: a noninteractive video sequence that occurs between segments of a video game and depicts part of the game's background or storyline

Extra bits of story are delivered every two or three levels, each cutscene lasting just a few seconds and providing a further, fleeting glance at the bizarre roster of characters.

—Joe Martin

Excellent cinematic cutscenes are dotted throughout the game, with rebel communications and face-to-face talks giving you hints on your progress.

—Matthew Horan

Ninja Gaiden is also notable for being one of the first action games to have cutscenes between levels.

—Chris Reed

You won't encounter an explicitly relayed narrative—there are no cut-scenes or dialog text; instead, the story is uncovered through the game's lo-fi and maquette-like environments, each filled with sad, funny, and poignant details.

—Lewis Gordon

Examples of cutscene in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

Horse girls racing in a cutscene from Umamusume: Pretty Derby. —Oliver Brandt, MSNBC Newsweek, 18 July 2025

Some of the scenes – like this one with Superman laser-beaming a bunch of baddies – looks like a weird cutscene from a video game. —Erik Kain, Forbes.com, 12 June 2025

Aside from the occasional cutscene, the game asked players to kill, tirelessly, over and over. —Diego Argüello, Rolling Stone, 22 Mar. 2025

Further down the line, compression technology enabled us to have cutscenes in games. —Jennifer Maas, Variety, 19 June 2025

Word History

First Known Use

1992, in the meaning defined above

Rhymes for cutscene

• agin
• alkene
• allene
• ameen
• amin
• amine
• arene
• athene
• baleen
• beeline
• benzene
• between