screenplay

noun

screen·​play ˈskrēn-ˌplā How to pronounce screenplay (audio)
: the script and often shooting directions of a story prepared for movie production

Examples of screenplay in a Sentence

an award for best screenplay each actor will be given a copy of the screenplay to study
Recent Examples on the Web
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
His screenplay had ended with Aimée’s widowed script girl returning to Paris from Deauville after a tryst gone sour with Trintignant’s widowed racecar driver. Bruce Handy, New Yorker, 28 Apr. 2025 The difference lies in how the screenplay probes the existential struggles warring inside its characters and confronts their pasts. Randy Myers, Mercury News, 28 Apr. 2025 Francis Lawrence will direct from a screenplay adaptation by Billy Ray. Justin Kroll, Deadline, 25 Apr. 2025 And At the Bench, directed by Yoshiyuki Okuyama, won the best screenplay award in the Forward Future program. Georg Szalai, HollywoodReporter, 25 Apr. 2025 See All Example Sentences for screenplay

Word History

First Known Use

1920, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of screenplay was in 1920

Browse Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

“Screenplay.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/screenplay. Accessed 1 May. 2025.

Kids Definition

screenplay

noun
screen·​play ˈskrēn-ˌplā How to pronounce screenplay (audio)
: the written form of a story prepared for film production

More from Merriam-Webster on screenplay

Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!