movie

noun

mov·​ie ˈmü-vē 

plural movies

1

: a recording of moving images that tells a story and that people watch (as in a theater or on the screen of a television or mobile device) : motion picture sense 2a

watched a movie after dinner

a movie about the Civil War

an action movie

especially : a feature-length film shown in a movie theater

2

the movies : 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

the movies : the business of making movies : the medium or industry of film

Synonyms of movie

• 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

Political reporters could sleep late, have a long lunch, even catch a movie. — Ben Smith, semafor.com, 3 Nov. 2026

The Wolf of Wall Street, the Leonardo DiCaprio and Margot Robbie movie about Belfort’s wild and excessive life as a New York stockbroker and boiler room boss, was released through Paramount Pictures. — Jesse Whittock, Deadline, 2 Nov. 2026

Amid the movie’s disastrous box office run, various Hollywood celebrities rallied around Cruise and the movie. — Zack Sharf, Variety, 2 Nov. 2026

While looking at a list of every movie and TV show filming in New York during My Next Guest production, Richardson immediately clocked a personal favorite, The Gilded Age. — Alex Zalben, Vulture, 2 Nov. 2026

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