What does "film" mean?
A thin layer of some substance; a pellicle; a membranous covering, causing opacity.
Film
/fɪlm/ noun, verb
noun, verb ·Very common ·Middle school level
Meaning at a glance
- Primary sense: A thin layer of some substance; a pellicle; a membranous covering, causing opacity.
- Grammar: film is listed as noun, verb.
- Nearest alternatives: celluloid, motion picture, movie, photographic film.
- Useful contrasts: attic tragedy, bare surface, dallas.
- Usage evidence: You should see this film if you get the opportunity.
How to use "film"
- Start with the primary definition, then check the part of speech before placing the word in a sentence.
- Compare nearby synonyms to make sure "film" carries the exact meaning, tone, and strength you need.
- Use the example sentence as a context check. If your sentence uses the word differently, confirm that the grammar still fits.
Meaning check
- Does the word fit the sentence's grammar?
- Does it match the intended tone rather than only the dictionary definition?
- Would a simpler synonym be clearer for the reader?
- Is there enough surrounding context to prevent ambiguity?
Source and review context
This entry combines structured lexical data with WordToolSet review checks. Definitions, examples, synonyms, and usage notes may come from different source tables, so the page is designed to show evidence from more than one angle before you rely on "film" in a final draft.
If a word has several senses, prefer the sense that matches your sentence's grammar and surrounding context. A correct definition can still be the wrong choice when the sentence needs a different register, emphasis, or level of specificity.
Before you rely on this definition
Read the first definition as a starting point, then check the example, synonyms, and part of speech before treating "film" as the right word for your sentence.
If your draft is formal, technical, persuasive, or sensitive, compare "film" with a nearby alternative so the final choice matches both meaning and reader expectation.
Compare nearby meanings
- Use synonyms when you need a softer, stronger, simpler, or more specific word.
- Use antonyms to check the boundary of the meaning and avoid accidental contrast.
- Use the example sentence to confirm the word behaves naturally in context.
- Keep the original wording when a replacement adds complexity without improving precision.
Definition decision workflow
1. Identify the role
Check whether "film" is acting as noun, verb in your sentence. A definition is only useful when the grammar matches the way the word is being used.
2. Test the nearest option
Compare it with "celluloid" and other nearby choices to see whether the sentence needs a softer, stronger, or more familiar word.
3. Confirm with context
Use the example sentence below as an evidence check, then read your own sentence out loud to catch tone or rhythm problems.
Review note: Definition pages are checked for source coverage, sentence evidence, synonym support, and editorial insight before they are treated as approval-ready pages. If the evidence is too thin, the page remains available to users but is kept out of the approval-facing indexed inventory.
Final meaning check
Before publishing a sentence with "film", ask whether the word helps the reader understand the idea faster. A precise word should reduce confusion, not simply make the sentence look more polished.
When the definition, synonym evidence, and example context point in the same direction, the word is usually a safer choice. When they conflict, revise the sentence or choose a clearer alternative.
Definitions
Noun
- 1 A thin layer of some substance; a pellicle; a membranous covering, causing opacity. countable, uncountable
"a clear plastic film for wrapping food"
- 2 a thin coating or layer wordnet
- 3 A medium used to capture images in a camera. countable, uncountable
- 4 photographic material consisting of a base of celluloid covered with a photographic emulsion; used to make negatives or transparencies wordnet
- 5 A visual art form that consists of a sequence of still images preserved on a recording medium to give the illusion of motion; movies generally. uncountable
"Despite personal schisms and differences in spiritual experience, there is a very coherent theology of Snape shared between the wives. To examine this manifestation of religious fandom, I will first discuss the canon scepticism and anti-Rowling sentiment that helps to contextualise the wider belief in Snape as a character who extends beyond book and film."
Show 5 more definitions
- 6 a thin sheet of (usually plastic and usually transparent) material used to wrap or cover things wordnet
- 7 The sequence of still images itself, which produces a moving image when played; a movie. countable
- 8 a medium that disseminates moving pictures wordnet
- 9 A slender thread, such as that of a cobweb. countable, uncountable
"Her whip of cricket's bone, the lash of film."
- 10 a form of entertainment that enacts a story by sound and a sequence of images giving the illusion of continuous movement wordnet
Verb
- 1 To record (activity, or a motion picture) on photographic film. ambitransitive
"A Hollywood studio was filming on location in NYC."
- 2 make a film or photograph of something wordnet
- 3 To visually record (activity, or a motion picture) in general, with or without sound. ambitransitive
- 4 record in film wordnet
- 5 To cover or become covered with a thin skin or pellicle. transitive
"It will but skin and film the ulcerous place."
Synonyms
All synonymsExample
"You should see this film if you get the opportunity."
Common questions
What is a synonym for "film"?
Common synonyms include: celluloid, motion picture, movie, photographic film, 3-d, actor-proof.
How do you use "film" in a sentence?
You should see this film if you get the opportunity.
How do you pronounce "film"?
Pronounced /fɪlm/.
Etymology
From Middle English filme, from Old English filmen (“film, membrane, thin skin, foreskin”), from Proto-West Germanic *filmīn-, from Proto-Germanic *filmīn- (“thin skin, membrane”) (compare Proto-Germanic *felma- (“skin, hide”)), from Proto-Indo-European *pél-mo- (“membrane”), from *pel- (“to cover, skin”). Cognate with Old Frisian filmene (“thin skin, human skin”), Middle Dutch velm, vilm (“fleece, film, membrane”), Old High German felm (“peel, skin, wrap”), Old English *felma (in ǣġerfelma (“egg membrane”)). Related also to Dutch vel (“sheet, skin”), Borrowed from Latin vēlum (“a cloth, covering, awning, curtain, veil”). German Fell (“skin, hide, fur”), Swedish fjäll (“fur blanket, cloth, scale”), Norwegian fille (“rag, cloth”), Lithuanian plėvē (“membrane, scab”), Russian плева́ (plevá, “membrane”), Ancient Greek πέλμα (pélma, “sole of the foot”). More at fell. Sense of a thin coat of something is 1577, extended by 1845 to the coating of chemical gel on photographic plates. By 1895 this also meant the coating plus the paper or celluloid.