FILM

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IPA (US):

 Dictionary entry overview: What does film mean? 

• FILM (noun)
  The noun FILM has 5 senses:

1. a form of entertainment that enacts a story by sound and a sequence of images giving the illusion of continuous movement

2. a medium that disseminates moving pictures

3. photographic material consisting of a base of celluloid covered with a photographic emulsion; used to make negatives or transparencies

4. a thin coating or layer

5. a thin sheet of (usually plastic and usually transparent) material used to wrap or cover things

  Familiarity information: FILM used as a noun is common.

• FILM (verb)
  The verb FILM has 2 senses:

1. make a film or photograph of something

2. record in film

  Familiarity information: FILM used as a verb is rare.

 Dictionary entry details 

• FILM (noun)

Sense 1

Meaning:

A form of entertainment that enacts a story by sound and a sequence of images giving the illusion of continuous movement

Classified under:

Nouns denoting communicative processes and contents

Synonyms:

film; flick; motion-picture show; motion picture; movie; moving-picture show; moving picture; pic; picture; picture show

Context example:

the film was shot on location

Hypernyms ("film" is a kind of...):

product; production (an artifact that has been created by someone or some process)

show (a social event involving a public performance or entertainment)

Meronyms (parts of "film"):

scene; shot (a consecutive series of pictures that constitutes a unit of action in a film)

credits (a list of acknowledgements of those who contributed to the creation of a film (usually run at the end of the film))

caption; subtitle (translation of foreign dialogue of a movie or TV program; usually displayed at the bottom of the screen)

credit (an entry on a list of persons who contributed to a film or written work)

episode; sequence (film consisting of a succession of related shots that develop a given subject in a movie)

Domain member category:

dub (provide (movies) with a soundtrack of a foreign language)

reshoot (shoot again)

tape; videotape (record on videotape)

film; shoot; take (make a film or photograph of something)

synchronise; synchronize (make (motion picture sound) exactly simultaneous with the action)

Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "film"):

musical; musical comedy; musical theater (a play or film whose action and dialogue is interspersed with singing and dancing)

feature; feature film (the principal (full-length) film in a program at a movie theater)

3-D; 3D; three-D (a movie with images having three dimensional form or appearance)

talkie; talking picture (a movie with synchronized speech and singing)

slow motion (a movie that apparently takes place at a slower than normal speed; achieved by taking the film at a faster rate)

silent movie; silent picture; silents (a movie without a soundtrack)

rough cut (the first print of a movie after preliminary editing)

skin flick (a pornographic movie)

film noir (a movie that is marked by a mood of pessimism, fatalism, menace, and cynical characters)

cinema verite (a movie that shows ordinary people in actual activities without being controlled by a director)

docudrama; documentary; documentary film; infotainment (a film or TV program presenting the facts about a person or event)

short subject (a brief film; often shown prior to showing the feature)

shoot-'em-up (a movie featuring shooting and violence)

coming attraction (a movie that is advertised to draw customers)

collage film (a movie that juxtaposes different kinds of footage)

home movie (a film made at home by an amateur photographer)

final cut (the final edited version of a movie as approved by the director and producer)

telefilm (a movie that is made to be shown on television)

Derivation:

film (make a film or photograph of something)

film (record in film)

Sense 2

Meaning:

A medium that disseminates moving pictures

Classified under:

Nouns denoting communicative processes and contents

Synonyms:

celluloid; cinema; film

Context example:

film coverage of sporting events

Hypernyms ("film" is a kind of...):

medium (a means or instrumentality for storing or communicating information)

Domain category:

art; artistic creation; artistic production (the creation of beautiful or significant things)

business; business enterprise; commercial enterprise (the activity of providing goods and services involving financial and commercial and industrial aspects)

Domain member category:

cut-in; insert ((film) a still picture that is introduced and that interrupts the action of a film)

MacGuffin; McGuffin ((film) a plot element that catches the viewers' attention or drives the plot)

Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "film"):

silver screen (the film industry)

Derivation:

film (make a film or photograph of something)

film (record in film)

Sense 3

Meaning:

Photographic material consisting of a base of celluloid covered with a photographic emulsion; used to make negatives or transparencies

Classified under:

Nouns denoting man-made objects

Synonyms:

film; photographic film

Hypernyms ("film" is a kind of...):

photographic material; photographic paper (light-sensitive paper on which photograph can be printed)

Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "film"):

X-ray film (photographic film used to make X-ray pictures)

film clip (a strip of motion picture film used in a telecast)

episode; sequence (film consisting of a succession of related shots that develop a given subject in a movie)

roll film (photographic film wound on a spool)

roll (photographic film rolled up inside a container to protect it from light)

reel (a roll of photographic film holding a series of frames to be projected by a movie projector)

panchromatic film (photographic film sensitive to light of all colors (including red))

orthochromatic film (a photographic film sensitive to green and blue and violet light)

negative (a piece of photographic film showing an image with light and shade or colors reversed)

cine-film; motion-picture film; movie film (photographic film several hundred feet long and wound on a spool; to be used in a movie camera)

footage (film that has been shot)

microfilm (film on which materials are photographed at greatly reduced size; useful for storage; a magnification system is used to read the material)

positive (a film showing a photographic image whose tones correspond to those of the original subject)

Derivation:

film (make a film or photograph of something)

film (record in film)

Sense 4

Meaning:

A thin coating or layer

Classified under:

Nouns denoting man-made objects

Context example:

the table was covered with a film of dust

Hypernyms ("film" is a kind of...):

object; physical object (a tangible and visible entity; an entity that can cast a shadow)

Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "film"):

slick (a film of oil or garbage floating on top of water)

soap film (a film left on objects after they have been washed in soap)

scum (a film of impurities or vegetation that can form on the surface of a liquid)

Sense 5

Meaning:

A thin sheet of (usually plastic and usually transparent) material used to wrap or cover things

Classified under:

Nouns denoting man-made objects

Synonyms:

film; plastic film

Hypernyms ("film" is a kind of...):

flat solid; sheet (a flat artifact that is thin relative to its length and width)

wrap; wrapper; wrapping (the covering (usually paper or cellophane) in which something is wrapped)

Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "film"):

Polaroid ((trade mark) a plastic film that can polarize a beam of light; often used in sunglasses to eliminate glare)

shrink-wrap (the clinging transparent plastic film that is used to shrinkwrap something)

Derivation:

filmy (so thin as to transmit light)

• FILM (verb)

Present simple: I / you / we / they film    ... he / she / it films   
Past simple: filmed   
Past participle: filmed   
-ing form: filming   

Sense 1

Meaning:

Make a film or photograph of something

Classified under:

Verbs of telling, asking, ordering, singing

Synonyms:

film; shoot; take

Context example:

shoot a movie

Hypernyms (to "film" is one way to...):

enter; put down; record (make a record of; set down in permanent form)

Verb group:

photograph; shoot; snap (record on photographic film)

Domain category:

film; flick; motion-picture show; motion picture; movie; moving-picture show; moving picture; pic; picture; picture show (a form of entertainment that enacts a story by sound and a sequence of images giving the illusion of continuous movement)

Troponyms (each of the following is one way to "film"):

reshoot (shoot again)

Sentence frames:

Somebody ----s
Somebody ----s something
Somebody ----s somebody

Sentence example:

Sam and Sue film the movie

Derivation:

film (photographic material consisting of a base of celluloid covered with a photographic emulsion; used to make negatives or transparencies)

film (a medium that disseminates moving pictures)

film (a form of entertainment that enacts a story by sound and a sequence of images giving the illusion of continuous movement)

filming (the act of making a film)

Sense 2

Meaning:

Record in film

Classified under:

Verbs of sewing, baking, painting, performing

Context example:

The coronation was filmed

Hypernyms (to "film" is one way to...):

enter; put down; record (make a record of; set down in permanent form)

create; make (make or cause to be or to become)

Troponyms (each of the following is one way to "film"):

cinematise; cinematize (make a film of or adopt so as to make into a film)

microfilm (record on microfilm)

Sentence frames:

Somebody ----s
Somebody ----s something

Sentence examples:

Did he film his major works over a short period of time?
They will film the duet

Derivation:

film (photographic material consisting of a base of celluloid covered with a photographic emulsion; used to make negatives or transparencies)

film (a medium that disseminates moving pictures)

film (a form of entertainment that enacts a story by sound and a sequence of images giving the illusion of continuous movement)

filming (the act of making a film)

 Context examples 

Biofilms occur when bacteria attach to surfaces and develop a film or protective coating, making them relatively resistant to antibiotics.

(Clay fights MRSA, other 'superbugs' in wounds, National Science Foundation)

Iridium "loses its identity," and its electrons act oddly, in an ultra-thin film when interfaced with nickel-based layers.

(Iridium 'loses its identity' when interfaced with nickel, National Science Foundation)

Typically, it's caused by poor oral hygiene, which allows plaque, a sticky film of bacteria, to build up on the teeth.

(New Link Found between Alzheimer's & Gum Disease Bacteria, The Titi Tudorancea Bulletin)

This makes it possible to distinguish on X-ray film, body parts that contain diatrizoate meglumine from body parts that do not contain this agent and allows for visualization of different body structures.

(Diatrizoate Meglumine, NCI Thesaurus)

In reality, it only takes a picosecond, but on film, the process has been slowed down by a trillion times.

(World's Fastest Film Camera, The Titi Tudorancea Bulletin)

The iodine moiety of diatrizoate is not penetrable by X-rays, therefore it blocks the X-ray film exposure by radiation.

(Diatrizoic Acid, NCI Thesaurus)

A thin outer layer or film covering something.

(Coat, NCI Thesaurus)

An x-ray is a type of radiation that can pass through the body and onto film, making pictures of areas inside the body.

(Abdominal Radiography, NCI Dictionary)

These thin, organic films do minimal damage in the brain, and their electrical properties are well-suited for these types of applications.

(Electronic device implanted in the brain could stop seizures, The Titi Tudorancea Bulletin)

A sample of blood applied in a thin film to a microscope slide for study under a microscope.

(Blood Smear, NCI Thesaurus)