film

Pluralfilms

Formsfilms, filming, filmed

1. 1
   a movienouncountable

   A sequence of still images that produces a moving picture when played; a movie.

   The director's new film opens in theaters next week.

   Critics praised the film for its bold storytelling.

   UsageMovie is the everyday word in North America; film is usual in British English and in talk about cinema as an art.

   Similarmovie, picture, feature

2. 2
   record videoverbtransitive or intransitive

   To make a visual recording of events or of a motion picture, whether or not sound is included.

   The crew will film the wedding from two angles.

   Documentary makers often film for months before editing.

   Similarshoot, record, tape, video

3. 3
   movies as artnoununcountable

   Motion pictures as a whole, seen as a visual art in which a series of still images recorded on a medium creates the illusion of movement.

   She teaches the history of early film at the university.

   Modern film owes much to the silent comedies of the 1920s.

   UsageWith no article for the art: study film, the history of film; a film is one movie.

   Similarcinema

   Note

   It names film as an art form, the way one speaks of painting or music. Bare film can also mean the medium in a camera, as in shooting on film, so context decides.

4. 4
   camera rollnouncountable or uncountable

   A medium used inside a camera to capture images.

   She prefers shooting on film rather than digital.

   The photographer developed the film in a darkroom.

   UsageNo article for the medium (shoot on film); with an article for a particular kind or roll (load a film).

   Similarcelluloid

   Oppositedigital

   Note

   A photographer's word that keeps the thin-layer meaning in plain sight. The medium carries a coating: a light-sensitive emulsion spread on a flexible strip or sheet, which changes chemically when exposed to light and is later developed. Source

   Checked 1 Nov 2026 · 1 fact

   • The light-sensitive emulsion changes chemically on exposure and is subsequently developed. archives.gov
5. 5
   thin layernouncountable or uncountable

   A thin layer or coating of a substance spread over a surface.

   A film of grease covered the kitchen window.

   The pond was coated with a film of green algae.

   UsageUsually a film of something: a film of dust, oil or grease.

   Similarlayer, coating, coat, sheen, skin

   Note

   The older idea is a covering that clouds what lies beneath. Alexander Pope's "Messiah" (1712) speaks of purging "thick films" from the sightless eye. Today the word just as often names a deliberate layer, like plastic film for wrapping food. Source

   Checked 1 Nov 2026 · 3 facts

   • An older meaning denotes an obscuring covering. en.wiktionary.org
   • Alexander Pope wrote Messiah, first published in 1712. gutenberg.org
   • The poem uses “thick films” when describing the restoration of sight. gutenberg.org
6. 6
   nouncountable or uncountable

   Thin, pliable plastic or a comparable material in sheet form, used especially for wrapping, packaging, or covering.

   Workers stretched film around each pallet before it was loaded onto the truck.

   The cucumbers are sold sealed in a tight plastic film to keep them fresh longer.

   UsageCovers both the material (a roll of film) and a single layer (sealed in a film).

   Similarwrap, sheeting

   Note

   Packaging has its own film: stretch film wound around pallets, shrink film that tightens with heat, and the kitchen wrap sold as plastic wrap or cling film. Source

   Checked 1 Nov 2026 · 3 facts

   • Stretch film is wrapped around pallet loads. en.wikipedia.org
   • Shrink film tightens when heated. en.wikipedia.org
   • Plastic wrap and cling film name the kitchen wrapping material. en.wikipedia.org

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