screen
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screen¹
- /ˈskɹiːn/
- [ˈskɹ̈ʷɪi̯n]
Rhymes with -iːn
Where it comes from
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.
noun screens · skreen
- A physical divider intended to block an area from view, or provide shelter from something dangerous. a fire screen
- 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.
- A stand of trees or other plants that can block wind.
- A military or nautical formation that blocks or separates; a collection of less-valuable vessels that travel with a more valuable one for the latter's protection.
- A disguise; concealment. They'd say he was operating behind a screen of guilelessness and was a superhypocrite.
- A mesh layer in a window or doorway that lets in fresh air but keeps out pests.
- 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.
- The protective netting which protects the audience from flying objects Jones caught the foul up against the screen.
- A stencil upon a framed mesh through which paint is forced onto printed-on material; the frame with the mesh itself.
- Searching through a sample for a target; an act of screening, or the method for it. a drug screen, a genetic screen
- A technique used to identify genes so as to study gene functions.
- A system intended to separate something into groups based on various criteria.
- The viewing surface or area of a movie or of a 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.
- A room in a cinema.
- 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
- 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.
- The visualised data or imagery displayed on a computer screen. After you turn on the computer, the login screen appears.
- An erection of white canvas or wood placed on the boundary opposite a batsman to make the ball more easily visible.
- Ellipsis of screen pass
-
An offensive tactic in which a player stands so as to block a defender from reaching a teammate.
Similar: pick
- A large scarf.
verb screens · screening · screened · skreen
- To filter by passing through a screen. Mary screened the beans to remove the clumps of gravel.
- To filter. Passenger baggage was screened by X-ray to look for weapons.
- To shelter or conceal.
- 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.
- To present publicly (on the screen). The news report will be screened at 11:00 tonight.
- To fit with a screen. We need to screen this porch. These bugs are driving me crazy.
- To examine patients or treat a sample in order to detect a chemical or a disease or to assess susceptibility to a disease.
- 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.
-
To stand so as to block a defender from reaching a teammate.
Similar: pick
- To determine the source or subject matter of a call before deciding whether to answer the phone. A Phone to Screen Calls
Screen²
Where it comes from
English surname, from Old French escrin (“jewel case”); also from the noun screen.
proper noun Screens
- A surname.
Thesaurus
Closest in meaning: screen door, cover, screen out, sieve, shield, silver screen, sort, test, block out, covert, concealment, riddle, blind, crt screen, projection screen, gate
Translations
Every language
noun material woven from fine wires
| Español | tamiz, malla, mosquitero |
|---|---|
| 日本語 | フェンス fensu, 柵 saku |
| Português | filtro |
| Deutsch | Insektengitter, Fliegengitter |
| Ελληνικά | κόσκινο kóskino, κρησάρα krisára, ηθμός ithmós, σουρωτήρι sourotíri |
| Română | sită |
| Русский | се́тка sétka |
noun viewing area of electronic output device
| Español | pantalla |
|---|---|
| 한국어 | 화면 hwamyeon, 스크린 seukeurin |
| 日本語 | スクリーン sukurīn, 画面 gamen |
| 中文 | 屏幕 píngmù |
| हिन्दी | स्क्रीन skrīn |
| Português | tela, ecrã |
| Français | écran |
| Deutsch | Bildschirm |
| Italiano | schermo |
| Ελληνικά | οθόνη othóni |
| Română | ecran |
| Русский | экра́н ekrán, табло́ tabló |
| Tiếng Việt | màn, màn ảnh, màn hình |
| العربية | شَاشَة šāša |
| עברית | מָסָךְ masákh, צָג tság |
noun movie viewing area
| Español | pantalla |
|---|---|
| 한국어 | 은막 eunmak, 스크린 seukeurin |
| 日本語 | スクリーン sukurīn, 銀幕 ginmaku |
| 中文 | 屏 píng, 屏幕 píngmù, 銀幕 /银幕 yínmù |
| हिन्दी | स्क्रीन skrīn |
| Português | tela, ecrã |
| Français | écran |
| Deutsch | Leinwand, Schirm |
| Italiano | schermo |
| Ελληνικά | οθόνη othóni |
| Română | ecran |
| Русский | экра́н ekrán |
| Tiếng Việt | màn ảnh |
| العربية | شَاشَة šāša |
| עברית | מָסָךְ masákh |
noun physical divider
| Español | mampara, pantalla, biombo |
|---|---|
| 日本語 | ついたて tsuitate |
| 中文 | 圍屏 /围屏 wéipíng, 屏風 /屏风 píngfēng |
| Português | anteparo |
| Français | paravent |
| Deutsch | Schirm, Paravent, Sichtschutz |
| Italiano | paravento |
| Română | ecran, paravan |
| Русский | экра́н ekrán, ши́рма šírma, засло́н zaslón, заве́са zavésa, перегоро́дка peregoródka |
| العربية | حِجَاب ḥijāb, سِتَارَة sitāra, حَاجِز ḥājiz |
| עברית | מָסָךְ masákh |
noun mining: stone classification device
| Español | criba |
|---|
verb to filter by passing through a screen
| 日本語 | ふるい落とす furuiotosu, 取り除く torinozoku, 除外する jogai suru |
|---|---|
| Português | filtrar |
| Italiano | cernere |
| Română | filtra |
| Русский | просеивать proseivatʹ |
verb to shelter or block or protect with a screen
| Italiano | schermare |
|---|---|
| Русский | экранировать ekranirovatʹ |
verb to remove information, or censor intellectual material from viewing; to hide the facts
| 日本語 | ふるい落とす furuiotosu, 取り除く torinozoku, 除外する jogai suru |
|---|---|
| Português | filtrar |
| Italiano | censurare |
Talk about this word "screen." Wiktionary, via Micwyn, micwyn.com/word/screen. Accessed 5 Nov. 2026. screen. (n.d.). In Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Retrieved November 5, 2026, from https://micwyn.com/word/screen "screen." Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Accessed November 5, 2026. https://micwyn.com/word/screen.Cite this
@misc{screen_2026,
title = {screen},
howpublished = {Wiktionary, via Micwyn},
year = {2026},
url = {https://micwyn.com/word/screen},
urldate = {2026-11-05}
}
