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

Instead of more traditional on-screen Hollywood roles, Wilson has gone on to become an author, playwright, prolific audiobook narrator, and voiceover actress. — Giovana Gelhoren, InStyle, 15 Aug. 2026

Being able to carry around classic games on your phone is amazing, but on-screen controls for these can die a very hot death in a very hot fire. — David Pierce, The Verge, 15 Aug. 2026

Regal Cinemas, for example, has 4DX auditoriums with multisensory enhancements that bring the film world into the real world with full-body immersion synced up with the on-screen action. — Rod Stafford Hagwood, Sun Sentinel, 13 Aug. 2026

Several of the author’s other novels, including Beautiful Ugly and Rock Paper Scissors, are in various stages of on-screen development. — Carly Tagen-Dye, PEOPLE, 12 Aug. 2026

Word History

First Known Use

1929, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Rhymes for on-screen

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