/ fɪlm; NAmE / noun , verb
■ noun
MOVING PICTURES
1.
[ C ] ( especially BrE ) ( NAmE usually movie ) a series of moving pictures recorded with sound that tells a story, shown on television or at the cinema / movie theater :
Let's go to the cinema— there's a good film on this week.
Let's stay in and watch a film .
a horror / documentary / feature film
a silent film (= one recorded without sound)
an international film festival
a film crew / critic / director / producer
the film version of the novel
to make / shoot a film
2.
[ U ] ( especially BrE ) ( NAmE usually the movies [ pl. ]) ( BrE also the cin·ema ) the art or business of making films / movies :
to study film and photography
the film industry
—compare cinema
3.
[ U ] moving pictures of real events, shown for example on television
SYN footage :
television news film of the riots
The accident was captured / caught on film .
IN CAMERAS
4.
[ U , C ] thin plastic that is sensitive to light, used for taking photographs and making films / movies; a roll of this plastic, used in cameras :
a roll of film
a 35mm film
She put a new film in her camera.
to have a film developed
THIN LAYER
5.
[ C , usually sing. ] film (of sth) a thin layer of sth, usually on the surface of sth else
SYN coat , coating , layer :
Everything was covered in a film of dust.
—see also cling film
■ verb
to make a film / movie of a story or a real event :
[ v ]
They are filming in Moscow right now.
[ vn ]
The show was filmed on location in New York.
[ vn -ing ]
Two young boys were filmed stealing CDs on the security video.
► film·ing noun [ U ]:
Filming was delayed because of bad weather.
••
WORD ORIGIN
Old English filmen membrane , of West Germanic origin.