Meaning & use
movie
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Meanings
nouncountable
A recorded motion picture that tells a story or presents information, shown in theaters or on screens.
Grammar: Countable; can be used with 'a' or in the plural. Often used with 'go to the movies' meaning the cinema.
Patterns
- watch a movie
- a movie about something
- go to the movies
We watched a great movie last night.
The movie is based on a true story.
She wants to go to the movies this weekend.
nounpluralinformal
The cinema as a place or the film industry as a whole.
Grammar: Used in the plural with 'the' to mean the cinema or the film industry.
Patterns
- go to the movies
- work in the movies
They go to the movies every Friday.
He has worked in the movies for twenty years.
Word forms
| plural | movies |
|---|
Common combinations
- watch a movie
- Let's watch a movie tonight.
- movie theater
- The new movie theater has reclining seats.
- movie star
- She dreamed of becoming a movie star.
- movie camera
- He bought a vintage movie camera.
Synonyms and how they differ
- film
- Film is the more formal term and is preferred in British English and for artistic works; movie is common in American English and everyday speech.
- picture
- Picture is an older, more formal term for a movie, now less common in everyday use.
- flick
- Flick is informal and often used for a movie that is not considered serious or important.
Word family
- moviegoer noun
- A person who often goes to see movies.
Practice
We decided to stay home and ______ a movie.
Choose one answer.
Watch is used for looking at something that moves or changes, like a movie. See is for noticing with your eyes, look is often followed by 'at', and observe is more formal and means to watch carefully.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “movie”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.