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

That was good enough to give the 79-year-old Spielberg, who conceived the film's story, his best opening weekend for an original movie, not accounting to inflation. —ABC News, 14 June 2026

Creator Celeste Hughey’s adaptation of the Tom Hanks movie stars Keke Palmer as Samira Fisher, an attorney and new mother who recently relocated to her husband’s suburban childhood home. —Whitney Friedlander, Variety, 14 June 2026

Hugh Jackman and Kate Hudson star in this movie about a Neil Diamond cover duo. —Erik Kain, Forbes.com, 14 June 2026

Tom Hanks in particular is fantastic, as usual, and his role as Captain Jim Lovell on the cursed spacecraft won himself and the movie several awards. —Austin Perry Outkick, FOXNews.com, 14 June 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