screen (screens plural & 3rd person present) (screening present participle) (screened past tense & past participle )
1 n-count A screen is a flat vertical surface on which pictures or words are shown. Television sets and computers have screens, and films are shown on a screen in cinemas.
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big screen
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small screen
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widescreen
2 n-sing You can refer to film or television as the screen.
the N, also on/off N
Many viewers have strong opinions about violence on the screen..., She was the ideal American teenager, both on and off screen.
3 verb When a film or a television programme is screened, it is shown in the cinema or broadcast on television.
The series is likely to be screened in January... be V-ed
TV firms were later banned from screening any pictures of the demo. V n
screening (screenings plural) n-count
The film-makers will be present at the screenings to introduce their works.
4 n-count A screen is a vertical panel which can be moved around. It is used to keep cold air away from part of a room, or to create a smaller area within a room.
They put a screen in front of me so I couldn't see what was going on.
5 verb If something is screenedby another thing, it is behind it and hidden by it.
usu passive
Most of the road behind the hotel was screened by a block of flats. be V-ed by n
6 verb To screenfor a disease means to examine people to make sure that they do not have it.
...a quick saliva test that would screen for people at risk of tooth decay. V for n
screening n-var usu N for n
Britain has an enviable record on breast screening for cancer.
7 verb When an organization screens people who apply to join it, it investigates them to make sure that they are not likely to cause problems.
They will screen all their candidates. V n
...screening procedures for the regiment. V-ing
8 verb To screen people or luggage means to check them using special equipment to make sure they are not carrying a weapon or a bomb.
The airline had been screening baggage on X-ray machines. V n
9 verb If you screen your telephone calls, calls made to you are connected to an answering machine or are answered by someone else, so that you can choose whether or not to speak to the people phoning you. I employ a secretary to screen my calls. V n screen out phrasal verb If an organization or country screens out certain people, it keeps them out because it thinks they may cause problems. The company screened out applicants motivated only by money. V P n (not pron)
big screen
When people talk about the big screen, they are referring to films that are made for cinema rather than for television. n-sing the N (Antonym: small screen)
She returns to the big screen to play Candy's overbearing mother, Rose.
off-screen , offscreen
You use off-screen to refer to the real lives of film or television actors, in contrast with the lives of the characters they play. adv ADV with cl (Antonym: on-screen)
He was immensely attractive to women, onscreen and offscreen..., Off-screen, Kathy is under the watchful eye of her father Terry.
Off-screen is also an adjective., adj ADJ n (Antonym: on-screen)
They were quick to dismiss rumours of an off-screen romance.
on-screen , onscreen
1 adj On-screen means appearing on the screen of a television, cinema, or computer.
ADJ n
...a clear and easy-to-follow menu-driven on-screen display..., Read the on-screen lyrics and sing along.
2 adj On-screen means relating to the roles played by film or television actors, in contrast with their real lives.
ADJ n
...her first onscreen kiss.
On-screen is also an adverb., adv ADV with cl
He was immensely attractive to women, onscreen and offscreen...
screen door (screen doors plural )A screen door is a door made of fine netting which is on the outside of the main door of a house. It is used to keep insects out when the main door is open. n-count
screen name (screen names plural )Someone's screen name is a name that they use when communicating with other people on the Internet. n-count (COMPUTING)
...someone with the screen name of nirvanakcf.
screen test (screen tests plural )When a film studio gives an actor a screen test, they film a short scene in order to test how good he or she would be in films. n-count
silk-screen , silkscreen
Silk-screen printing is a method of printing patterns onto cloth by forcing paint or dyes through silk or similar material. adj ADJ n
...silk-screen prints.
silver screen
People sometimes refer to the films that are shown in cinemas as the silver screen. n-sing the N
Marlon Brando, Steve McQueen, and James Dean are now legends of the silver screen...
small screen
When people talk about the small screen, they are referring to television, in contrast to films that are made for the cinema. n-sing usu the N (Antonym: big screen)
Now he is also to become a star of the small screen...
split-screen (split-screens plural )
1 adj Split-screen is used to describe the technique in making films and television programmes in which two different pieces of film are shown at the same time.
usu ADJ n
...split-screen movies.
2 n-count On a computer screen, a split-screen is a display of two different things in separate parts of the screen.
oft N n
touch-screen (touch-screens plural )A touch-screen is a computer screen that allows the user to give commands to the computer by touching parts of the screen rather than by using the keyboard or mouse. (COMPUTING) n-count oft N n
