DictionaryfilmMoving pictures
noun / verb

film

Light-sensitive material on which photographic images are recorded.

She loads a fresh roll of film into her camera.

Etymology

Film originally meant a thin skin or membrane. Photography applied that name to the thin material carrying the light-sensitive layer on which images are recorded.

More examples

  • Opening the camera too soon can ruin the film.
  • The lab develops both color and black-and-white film.
  • We film the scene on 16-millimeter stock.

Forms

film · films · filmed · filming

Similar words

plate
A photographic plate has a rigid base rather than flexible backing.