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

Mario Rodriguez, a model who landed a small role in Perry's 2016 movie Boo! —Sydney Bucksbaum, Entertainment Weekly, 27 Dec. 2025

The two arranged to meet — an interaction for which Cameron, 71, was nervous, considering the film would be his first big studio movie. —Virginia Chamlee, PEOPLE, 26 Dec. 2025

This year can especially be telling in terms of the power of the international vote where purely America-centric movies like One Battle and Sinners may find a tougher audience – or not. —Pete Hammond, Deadline, 26 Dec. 2025

Hallmark is returning to Asheville’s Biltmore Estate to shoot a second holiday movie, a love story that transports viewers back to the Gilded Age (roughly 130 years ago) around the estate’s opening on Christmas Eve of 1895. —Evan Moore, Charlotte Observer, 26 Dec. 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