movie

noun

mov·​ie ˈmü-vē 

1

: a recording of moving images that tells a story and that people watch on a screen or television : motion picture

watched a movie after dinner

a movie about the Civil War

an action movie

2

movies plural : a showing of a motion picture especially in a theater

went to the movies last Friday

also : a theater that shows movies

What's playing at the movies?

3

movies plural : the business of making movies : the motion-picture medium or industry

Synonyms

• film
• documentary

Examples of movie in a Sentence

He wants to work in the movies.

a career in the movies

Recent Examples on the Web

Freddy Krueger was the first time a killer in a slasher movie spoke. —Raechal Shewfelt, Entertainment Weekly, 1 Nov. 2025

This movie oozes style — and actual undead sludge, occasionally — along with Cody’s signature sense of humor. —Bailey Richards, PEOPLE, 31 Oct. 2025

Common confirmed the beef was squashed from his side from that point forward and compared Joe’s intervention to a scene straight out of a movie. —Michael Saponara, Billboard, 31 Oct. 2025

More importantly, this origin story of a movie and a movement apes the joie de moviemaking and the jazzy looseness of the original to an absolutely amazing degree, replicating an off-the-cuff feeling that’s more than a second-hand buzz. —David Fear, Rolling Stone, 31 Oct. 2025

Word History

Etymology

moving picture

First Known Use

1909, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Phrases Containing movie

• B movie
• home movie
• movie house

Rhymes for movie

• groovy

Kids Definition

movie

noun

mov·​ie ˈmü-vē 

1

: motion picture sense 1

2

a

: a story represented in motion pictures

b

pl : a showing of a movie

went to the movies yesterday

3

plural : the business of making movies : the motion-picture industry