What does "screen" mean?
A physical divider intended to block an area from view, or provide shelter from something dangerous.
Screen
/skɹiːn/ name, noun, verb
name, noun, verb ·Top 500 ·Elementary level
Meaning at a glance
- Primary sense: A physical divider intended to block an area from view, or provide shelter from something dangerous.
- Grammar: screen is listed as name, noun, verb.
- Nearest alternatives: act drop, advocate, aegis, alibi.
- Useful contrasts: electromagnetic radiation sources, conceal, expose.
- Usage evidence: Come closer in order that you may see the screen better.
How to use "screen"
- Start with the primary definition, then check the part of speech before placing the word in a sentence.
- Compare nearby synonyms to make sure "screen" 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 "screen" 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 "screen" as the right word for your sentence.
If your draft is formal, technical, persuasive, or sensitive, compare "screen" 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 "screen" is acting as name, 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 "act drop" 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 "screen", 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 physical divider intended to block an area from view, or provide shelter from something dangerous.
"a fire screen"
- 2 a protective covering that keeps things out or hinders sight wordnet
- 3 A material woven from fine wires intended to block animals or large particles from passing while allowing gasses, liquids and finer particles to pass.; A frame supporting a mesh of bars or wires used to classify fragments of stone by size, allowing the passage of fragments whose a diameter is smaller than the distance between the bars or wires.
- 4 a protective covering consisting of netting; can be mounted in a frame wordnet
- 5 A material woven from fine wires intended to block animals or large particles from passing while allowing gasses, liquids and finer particles to pass.; The protective netting which protects the audience from flying objects
"Jones caught the foul up against the screen."
Show 21 more definitions
- 6 a covering that serves to conceal or shelter something wordnet
- 7 A material woven from fine wires intended to block animals or large particles from passing while allowing gasses, liquids and finer particles to pass.; A stencil upon a framed mesh through which paint is forced onto printed-on material; the frame with the mesh itself.
- 8 partition consisting of a decorative frame or panel that serves to divide a space wordnet
- 9 Searching through a sample for a target; an act of screening, or the method for it.
"a drug screen, a genetic screen"
- 10 the display that is electronically created on the surface of the large end of a cathode-ray tube wordnet
- 11 Searching through a sample for a target; an act of screening, or the method for it.; A technique used to identify genes so as to study gene functions.
- 12 a white or silvered surface where pictures can be projected for viewing wordnet
- 13 Various forms or formats of information display; The viewing surface or area of a movie, or moving picture or slide presentation.
"The stories did not seem to me to touch life. […] They left me with the impression of a well-delivered stereopticon lecture, with characters about as life-like as the shadows on the screen, and whisking on and off, at the mercy of the operator."
- 14 a strainer for separating lumps from powdered material or grading particles wordnet
- 15 Various forms or formats of information display; The viewing surface or area of a movie, or moving picture or slide presentation.; A room in a cinema. broadly
- 16 the personnel of the film industry wordnet
- 17 Various forms or formats of information display; The informational viewing area of electronic devices, where output is displayed.
"You won't find me living for the screen […] I ain't equipment I ain't automatic"
- 18 Various forms or formats of information display; One of the individual regions of a video game, etc. divided into separate screens.
"The idea is to reach the 21st level of an enormous network of interlocking screens, each of which is covered with blocks that you bounce along on."
- 19 Various forms or formats of information display; The visualised data or imagery displayed on a computer screen.
"After you turn on the computer, the login screen appears."
- 20 A disguise; concealment. figuratively
"They'd say he was operating behind a screen of guilelessness and was a superhypocrite."
- 21 Definitions related to standing in the path of an opposing player; Ellipsis of screen pass. abbreviation, alt-of, ellipsis
- 22 Definitions related to standing in the path of an opposing player; An offensive tactic in which a player stands so as to block a defender from reaching a teammate.
- 23 An erection of white canvas or wood placed on the boundary opposite a batsman to make the ball more easily visible.
- 24 A collection of less-valuable vessels that travel with a more valuable one for the latter's protection.
- 25 A dwarf wall or partition carried up to a certain height for separation and protection, as in a church, to separate the aisle from the choir, etc.
- 26 A large scarf. Scotland, archaic
Verb
- 1 To filter by passing through a screen.
"Mary screened the beans to remove the clumps of gravel."
- 2 examine methodically wordnet
- 3 To shelter or conceal.
- 4 protect, hide, or conceal from danger or harm wordnet
- 5 To remove information, or censor intellectual material from viewing. To hide the facts.
"The news report was screened because it accused the politician of wrongdoing."
Show 11 more definitions
- 6 separate with a riddle, as grain from chaff wordnet
- 7 To present publicly (on the screen).
"The news report will be screened at 11:00 tonight."
- 8 prevent from entering wordnet
- 9 To fit with a screen.
"We need to screen this porch. These bugs are driving me crazy."
- 10 project onto a screen for viewing wordnet
- 11 To examine patients or treat a sample in order to detect a chemical or a disease, or to assess susceptibility to a disease.
- 12 examine in order to test suitability wordnet
- 13 To search chemical libraries by means of a computational technique in order to identify chemical compounds which would potentially bind to a given biological target such as a protein.
- 14 test or examine for the presence of disease or infection wordnet
- 15 To stand so as to block a defender from reaching a teammate.
- 16 To determine the source or subject matter of a call before deciding whether to answer the phone.
"A Phone to Screen Calls"
Proper Noun
- 1 A surname.
Example
"Come closer in order that you may see the screen better."
Common questions
What is a synonym for "screen"?
Common synonyms include: act drop, advocate, aegis, alibi, analyze, apology.
How do you use "screen" in a sentence?
Come closer in order that you may see the screen better.
How do you pronounce "screen"?
Pronounced /skɹiːn/.
Etymology
Etymology 1
From Middle English scren, screne (“windscreen, firescreen”), from Anglo-Norman escren (“firescreen, the tester of a bed”), Old French escren, escrein, escran (modern French écran (“screen”)), from Middle Dutch scherm, from Old Dutch skirm, from Proto-West Germanic *skirmi, from Proto-Germanic *skirmiz (“fur, shelter, covering, screen”), from Proto-Indo-European *(s)ker- (“to cut, divide”). Cognate with Dutch scherm (“screen”), German Schirm (“screen”). Doublet of scherm. An alternative etymology derives Old French escren, escran from Old Dutch *scranc (“barrier”) (compare Middle Dutch schranc, schranke (“palisade, trellis, grid”), German Schrank (“cupboard, cabinet”), German Schranke (“fence”)), from Proto-West Germanic *skrank, from Proto-Germanic *skrankaz.
Etymology 2
English surname, from Old French escrin (“jewel case”); also from the noun screen.