1
a
: motion picture
—usually used attributively
b
: a motion-picture theater
2
a
: movies
especially
: the film industry
b
: the art or technique of making motion pictures
Examples of cinema in a Sentence
a student of French cinema
We drove by the cinema to see what was playing.
Recent Examples on the Web
Maalik defies all cinematic logic by the standards of Rajkummar Rao - the actor - but manages to sail past the landmarks of populist cinema.
—
Sweta Kaushal, Forbes.com, 15 July 2025
She will be remembered as an exemplary icon of Indian cinema and culture.
—Naman Ramachandran, Variety, 14 July 2025
The 2025 edition of the Karlovy Vary fest, which has a reputation as Central Europe’s largest cinema party, had opened with the presentation of KVIFF President’s Awards to Peter Sarsgaard and Vicky Krieps, a film about late long-time KVIFF president Jiří Bartoška, and a concert by U.K. act La Roux.
—Georg Szalai, HollywoodReporter, 12 July 2025
It’s built for both stills and cinema work, with a hybrid design that gives you the best of both worlds.
—Juhi Wadia July 11, PC Magazine, 11 July 2025
See All Example Sentences for cinema
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show current usage.
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Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors.
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Sweta Kaushal, Forbes.com, 15 July 2025
She will be remembered as an exemplary icon of Indian cinema and culture.
—Naman Ramachandran, Variety, 14 July 2025
The 2025 edition of the Karlovy Vary fest, which has a reputation as Central Europe’s largest cinema party, had opened with the presentation of KVIFF President’s Awards to Peter Sarsgaard and Vicky Krieps, a film about late long-time KVIFF president Jiří Bartoška, and a concert by U.K. act La Roux.
—Georg Szalai, HollywoodReporter, 12 July 2025
It’s built for both stills and cinema work, with a hybrid design that gives you the best of both worlds.
—Juhi Wadia July 11, PC Magazine, 11 July 2025
See All Example Sentences for cinema
Cite this Entry
“Cinema.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/cinema. Accessed 20 Jul. 2025.
Copy CitationKids Definition
cinema
noun
cin·e·ma
ˈsin-ə-mə 
1
a
: movie sense 2a
a cinema director
b
: a theater for showing movies
went to the cinema
2
a
: the business of making movies
worked in cinema
b
: the art or technique of making movies
a student of French cinema
cinematic
adjective
ˌsin-ə-ˈmat-ik
cinematically
adverb
-i-k(ə-)lē
Etymology
derived from French cinématographe "motion picture," from Greek kinēma "movement" and graphe "picture," from kinein "to move" — related to kinetic
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