big-screen

1 of 2

adjective

ˈbig-ˌskrēn 

1

: relating to movies or to the movie industry

She worked on the novel's big-screen adaptation.

Big-screen villains that resemble America's real-world enemies are as old as the movies themselves.

—Vanity Fair

2

: having a large screen

a big-screen television

And in my experience testing big-screen phones …, it really is far more difficult to do anything on them one-handed, including typing.

—John Gruber

big screen

2 of 2

noun

: the motion-picture medium often as contrasted to television

a story adapted for the big screen

Synonyms

Noun

• cinema
• film
• filmdom
• filmland
• filmmaking
• movie
• moviemaking
• pictures
• screen
• silver screen

Examples of big-screen in a Sentence

Noun

many actors now take roles for both television and the big screen

Recent Examples on the Web

Adjective

Rick Moranis played the lead in the big-screen adaptation of the dark musical comedy Little Shop of Horrors, alongside fellow comedians like Steve Martin, Jim Belushi and John Candy and stars including Tisha Campbell, Tichina Arnold, Ellen Greene and Michelle Weeks. —Kate Hogan, Peoplemag, 18 Apr. 2024

High-quality, big-screen televisions are ubiquitous in homes and bars, so fans need something more than a ticket to a nosebleed seat to entice them to attend a game. —Kevin Draper Doug Mills, New York Times, 13 Apr. 2024

Word History

First Known Use

Adjective

1914, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Noun

1914, in the meaning defined above