Word.ws English Dictionary

establishing shot

establishing shot noun: a master shot, the primary wide shot of a scene used to inform the audience of the location or situation.

Noun

establishing shot (plural establishing shots)

  1. A master shot, the primary wide shot of a scene used to inform the audience of the location or situation.
    • Using mostly fixed camera positions, he will intersperse scenes with establishing shots of the clanking, pitiless machinery of the ski lift, rattling rhythmically as bits of cable and metal thunk into each other.2015 April 9, Peter Bradshaw, “Force Majeure review – after the avalanche”, in The Guardian, →ISSN
    Synonyms:
    long shot, wide shot

Synonyms of establishing shot

Forms of establishing shot

pluralestablishing shots

Questions about establishing shot

What does establishing shot mean?
Establishing shot means a master shot, the primary wide shot of a scene used to inform the audience of the location or situation.
What part of speech is establishing shot?
Establishing shot is a noun.
What is the plural of establishing shot?
The plural of establishing shot is establishing shots.

Words near establishing shot in the dictionary

  1. establishers
  2. establishes
  3. establishest
  4. establisheth
  5. establishing
  6. establishing shot
  7. establishing shots
  8. establishings
  9. establishment
  10. establishment clause
  11. establishment growth

Source and license

Adapted from Wiktionary: establishing shot (page history and authors). Text available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 license. Word.ws reformatted the entry and added links. Wiktionary data of 2026-09-02.

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