on-screen

adverb or adjective

ˈȯn-ˈskrēn 

ˈän-

variants or onscreen

1

: in a movie or a television program

But the makers of the 1958 movie understood that this most subtle of writers was telling a tale about the froth of life, and they celebrated it on-screen with gusto.

—Gerald Asher

The sixth-grader reportedly earned $1 million for starring in the upcoming My Girl, which pairs him with Anna Chlumsky for his first onscreen kiss.

—Alexander Tresniowski

2

: on a computer or television screen

You can watch a football game, see a small icon onscreen offering player statistics, click it with the remote, and view the stats.

—Edward W. Desmond

… handheld joysticks and gamepads that jolt and jar with the on-screen action.

—Leigh Gallagher

Examples of on-screen in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

Once mapped to a mouse button, the wheel opens a radial ring on-screen with eight shortcuts. —Zackery Cuevas, PC Magazine, 15 Mar. 2026

The same day, the Django Unchained star told The New York Times that their real-life friendship bared similarities to their on-screen one. —Lara Walsh, InStyle, 15 Mar. 2026

Unlike Hanks’s on-screen bookstore tycoon, Daunt promises that Barnes & Noble’s expansion will not put it in conflict with its independent rivals; that the pie of book readers and book buyers can grow. —Henry Grabar, The Atlantic, 14 Mar. 2026

But moving to a combination of physical and on-screen controls should reduce distraction and driver frustration. —Chris Teague, AJC.com, 13 Mar. 2026

Word History

First Known Use

1929, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Rhymes for on-screen

• agin
• alkene
• allene
• ameen
• amin
• amine
• arene
• athene
• baleen
• beeline
• benzene
• between