motion picture

noun

|Updated on: 13 Jul 2018

Examples: motion picture in a Sentence

Definition of motion picture

1 : a series of pictures projected on a screen in rapid succession with objects shown in successive positions slightly changed so as to produce the optical effect of a continuous picture in which the objects move

2 : a representation (as of a story) by means of motion pictures : movie

See motion picture defined for English-language learners

See motion picture defined for kids

Examples of motion picture in a Sentence

He was given a starring role in a major motion picture.
a popular novel that was made into a major motion picture

Recent Examples of motion picture from the Web

Among the problems that plagued the movie were Elizabeth Taylor’s severe illness and the decision to move filming of the epically long motion picture to Rome’s Cinecitta Studios. 18.

— charles stockdale and john harrington, USA TODAY, "From 'Transformers' to 'Avatar,' these are the 50 most expensive movies ever made," 6 July 2018
Now that the Office of War Information mandated that all motion pictures should on some level support the Allied war effort, several of the major studios suddenly had no qualms about making movies that tipped their hat to our Soviet allies.

— noah isenberg, The New Republic, "Making the Movies Un-American," 3 July 2018
In 1934, Hollywood began enforcing its Production Code subjecting motion pictures to censorship review.

— BostonGlobe.com, "This day in history," 30 June 2018
Based on the 1992 motion picture and inspired by a true story, Newsies features a Tony Award-winning score by Alan Menken (Little Shop of Horrors, Sister Act) and Jack Feldman and a book by Tony Award winner Harvey Fierstein (Kinky Boots).

— staff report, Houston Chronicle, "Inspiration Stage presents ‘Disney’s Newsies’," 5 June 2018
It’s hard to imagine that 40 years ago this field was the filming location for one of the most colorful and spectacular endings in motion picture history, which, coincidentally, took place on the last day of school.

— jared cowan, Los Angeles Magazine, "Every L.A. Filming Location From Grease, 40 Years Later," 15 June 2018
Shortly after the meeting, Rosenberger emailed Winks about incentives Ohio could offer to attract the motion picture studio, such as those offered by the U.K. or the state of Georgia.

— chrissie thompson, Cincinnati.com, "Ohio speaker, under FBI investigation, thought Disney might move to Cincy. He was wrong.," 2 May 2018
Big Little Lies bagged the Golden Globe for best television miniseries or motion picture made for television on Sunday night.

— katie kilkenny, The Hollywood Reporter, "Golden Globes: 'Big Little Lies' Wins Best Limited Series," 8 Jan. 2018
Founded in 1999, the Golden Trailer Awards honor the best in motion picture marketing, including film trailers, posters, TV spots and other media, in 108 categories.

— lisa respers france, CNN, "'Black Panther' wins big at Golden Trailer Awards," 1 June 2018

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'motion picture.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

First Known Use of motion picture

1891

in the meaning defined at sense 1

See Words from the same year

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motion picture Synonyms

Synonyms

film, flick, flicker, movie, moving picture, picture;

silent, talkie;

MOTION PICTURE Defined for Kids

motion picture

noun

Definition of motion picture for Students

1 : a series of pictures projected on a screen rapidly one after another so as to give the appearance of a continuous picture in which the objects move

2 : movie 1