film

 
Pronunciation: /fɪlm/

noun

  • 1 [mass noun] a thin flexible strip of plastic or other material coated with light-sensitive emulsion for exposure in a camera, used to produce photographs or motion pictures: he had already shot a whole roll of film [count noun]: a new range of films and cameras
  • material in the form of a very thin flexible sheet: clear plastic film between the layers of glass
  • [count noun] a thin layer covering a surface: she quickly wiped away the light film of sweat
  • archaic a fine thread or filament: films of silk
  • 2a story or event recorded by a camera as a set of moving images and shown in a cinema or on television: a horror film [as modifier]: a film director
  • [mass noun] cinema considered as an art or industry: a critical overview of feminist writing on film

verb

  • 1 [with object] capture on film as part of a series of moving images; make a film of (a story, event, or book): she glowered at the television crew who were filming them
  • 2 [no object] become or appear to become covered with a thin layer of something: his eyes had filmed over

Derivatives

filmdom

noun
film (sense 2 of the noun)

Origin:

Old English filmen 'membrane', of West Germanic origin; related to fell5