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
Étoile doesn’t just make that argument, in guest appearances by artists who bridge high and low, like David Byrne, and shouting out the brilliant documentarian Frederick Wiseman in a scene set at the Manhattan cinema mecca Film Forum.
—
Judy Berman, Time, 23 Apr. 2025
First as Jacques Demy’s Madonna figure in The Umbrellas of Cherbourg (1964), then in films by Truffaut, Polanski, and Buñuel, then during her stint in Hollywood and her later career as Andre Téchiné’s muse and inspiration to Millennial newcomers, Deneuve embodies a leftist French cinema ideal.
—Armond White, National Review, 23 Apr. 2025
The Fantastic Pavilion, Cannes’ genre cinema hub, is back for its third edition at this year’s upcoming Marché du Film with an ambitious lineup that reaffirms its role as the ultimate destination for horror, sci-fi and fantasy professionals.
—Jamie Lang, Variety, 21 Apr. 2025
If Hollywood continues to suffer the effects of the decline in cinema attendance, what happens to the larger city?
Metaphorically, perhaps, but in reality, no.
—Lorraine Berry, Los Angeles Times, 21 Apr. 2025
See All Example Sentences for cinema
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Judy Berman, Time, 23 Apr. 2025
First as Jacques Demy’s Madonna figure in The Umbrellas of Cherbourg (1964), then in films by Truffaut, Polanski, and Buñuel, then during her stint in Hollywood and her later career as Andre Téchiné’s muse and inspiration to Millennial newcomers, Deneuve embodies a leftist French cinema ideal.
—Armond White, National Review, 23 Apr. 2025
The Fantastic Pavilion, Cannes’ genre cinema hub, is back for its third edition at this year’s upcoming Marché du Film with an ambitious lineup that reaffirms its role as the ultimate destination for horror, sci-fi and fantasy professionals.
—Jamie Lang, Variety, 21 Apr. 2025
If Hollywood continues to suffer the effects of the decline in cinema attendance, what happens to the larger city?
Metaphorically, perhaps, but in reality, no.
—Lorraine Berry, Los Angeles Times, 21 Apr. 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 3 May. 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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