movie

noun

mov·​ie ˈmü-vē 

1

: a recording of moving images that tells a story and that people watch on a screen or television : motion picture

watched a movie after dinner

a movie about the Civil War

an action movie

2

movies plural : 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

movies plural : the business of making movies : the motion-picture medium or industry

Synonyms

• film
• flick
• flicker
• motion picture
• moving picture
• picture

Examples of movie in a Sentence

He wants to work in the movies.

a career in the movies

Recent Examples on the Web

The Capitol Building sees its fair share of Hollywood celebrities, many of whom crash the Hill to promote a pet cause before jetting back to movie sets. —Philip Elliott, TIME, 3 June 2024

This is the private place to hang out before a movie or after shopping, or perhaps enjoy a post-dinner nightcap. —Laura Ness, The Mercury News, 2 June 2024

Hood Canal wraps around Port Gamble, an old timber town that moonlights as a movie set. —Jacqueline Kehoe, Travel + Leisure, 2 June 2024

Both films had already concluded their first runs in movie theaters earlier in 1970. —Howard Cohen, Miami Herald, 3 June 2024

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

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