cin ‧ e ‧ ma S3 /ˈsɪnəmə, ˈsɪnɪmə/ BrE AmE noun
[ Date: 1900-2000 ; Origin: cinematograph 'movie camera, movie show' (19-20 centuries) , from French cinématographe , from Greek kinema 'movement' + French -graphe 'recording instrument' ]
1 . [countable] especially British English a building in which films are shown SYN movie theater American English :
It’s on at the local cinema.
2 . the cinema British English if you go to the cinema, you go to a cinema to see a film:
We decided to go to the cinema.
3 . [singular, uncountable] the skill or industry of making films ⇨ cinematic :
a leading figure in Italian cinema
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COLLOCATIONS
■ verbs
▪ go to the cinema
Why don’t we go to the cinema tonight?
▪ be on/be showing at the cinema
Do you know what’s on at the cinema?
■ adjectives
▪ a multiplex cinema (=with several different screens for showing films)
You can see the movie now at your local multiplex cinema.
▪ a 6-screen/12-screen etc cinema
The new leisure complex includes a 12-screen cinema.
■ cinema + NOUN
▪ a cinema audience (=the people who watch a film)
His new movie is sure to bring in big cinema audiences.
▪ a cinema screen (=the large white surface on which films are shown)
The film was much better on the cinema screen than on TV.
▪ cinema advertising
a cinema advertising campaign for Levi jeans
▪ a cinema chain (=a group of cinemas owned by the same company)
He works for a well-known cinema chain.
▪ cinema release (=the showing of a new film at the cinema)
His film was banned from cinema release for some years.