movie

noun mov·ie \ ˈmü-vē \

|Updated on: 13 Jun 2018

Examples: movie in a Sentence

Definition of movie

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

See movie defined for English-language learners

See movie defined for kids

Examples of movie in a Sentence

He wants to work in the movies.
a career in the movies

Recent Examples of movie from the Web

Instead, a movie that should have been a summer bonbon comes at us like an overloaded parade float.

— stephanie zacharek, Time, "Review: Ocean's 8 Boasts a Great Cast But Lacks Champagne-Bubble Lightness," 9 June 2018
Even back when tickets were 10 bucks, tickets to a movie were $2.

— kerry lengel, azcentral, "O.G. Original Greasepaint: How Peter J. Hill built a theater scene one show at a time," 9 June 2018
Todd Stewart is Content Director/Things To Do — and movie and poker enthusiast — at the Orlando Sentinel.

— todd stewart, OrlandoSentinel.com, "'First Man' movie trailer: Ryan Gosling stars as Neil Armstrong," 9 June 2018
One of the most acclaimed movie musicals of all time, West Side Story, is returning to theaters on June 24 and 27.

— staff, The Christian Science Monitor, "Top Picks: Ray LaMontagne’s 'Part of the Light,' the podcast 'Giants of History,' and more top picks," 9 June 2018
Chris Garcia knew that park movie nights in Cooper City were well attended.

— emily bloch, Sun-Sentinel.com, "Cooper City to host first pool movie night," 9 June 2018
Two big-name movie stars are the frontrunners here.

— christopher wallenberg, BostonGlobe.com, "Picks and predictions for the Tonys," 8 June 2018
With his wife, Indiana, Brinton barnstormed the heartland from Oklahoma to Minnesota in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, bringing movies to a wide swath of the Midwest.

— kenneth turan, latimes.com, "Film exhibition advocates are the stars in affectionate documentary 'Saving Brinton'," 8 June 2018
Without spoiling too much, the movie feints at a tragic ending, but all is resolved in the final seconds.

— kelly lawler, USA TODAY, "Review: Netflix's wonderful and weird 'Sense8' gets a pitch-perfect ending (and an orgy)," 8 June 2018

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

Origin and Etymology of movie

moving picture

NEW! Time Traveler

First Known Use: 1909

in the meaning defined at sense 1

See Words from the same year

movie Synonyms

Synonyms

film, flick, flicker, motion picture, moving picture, picture;

silent, talkie;

Other Pictures (on film) Terms

daguerreotype, emulsion, fill, sepia, still, stop

MOVIE Defined for English Language Learners

movie

noun

Definition of movie for English Language Learners

: a recording of moving images that tells a story and that people watch on a screen or television
the movies : a showing of a movie in a theater; also : a movie theater
: the business of making movies : the film industry