Hollywood

Syllables: Hol·ly·wood/ˈhɒ.li.wʊd/US/ˈhɑ.li.wʊd/

Hollywood proper noun: a neighbourhood of Los Angeles, California, known as the center of the American motion picture industry.

Proper noun

Hollywood (countable and uncountable, plural Hollywoods)

A neighbourhood of Los Angeles, California, known as the center of the American motion picture industry.
- An automobile leaving Los Angeles and going westward over the splendid boulevard called "Sunset"—one of the main arteries of travel in the southwest—and a little northerly, will soon arrive at the sea-coast, or, in other words, at the beach resorts of Los Angeles. The district passed over in going...1924, Marilynn Conners, “That Fascinating Hollywood”, in What Chance Have I in Hollywood? Intimate Information Concerning the Movie Capital of the World, Famous Authors Imprint, page 15
Synonyms:

Hollywoodland
(metonymically) The American motion picture industry, regardless of location.
- Even without hovering drones, a lurking assassin, a thumping score and a denouement, the real-life story of Edward Snowden, a rogue spy on the run, could be straight out of the cinema. But, as with Hollywood, the subplots and exotic locations may distract from the real message: America’s discomfort...2013 June 29, “Travels and travails”, in The Economist, volume 407, number 8842, archived from the original on 12 Mar 2023, page 55
- Thinly-veiled homophobia – this time in early-2000s Hollywood – made Brokeback Mountain an immense challenge for Ossana and her fellow producer James Schamus.2025 June 20, Nick Levine, “'In every theatre, people would leave': How 'gay cowboy movie' Brokeback Mountain challenged Hollywood – and the US”, in BBC, archived from the original on 25 Jul 2025
Synonyms:

Hollywoodland
A town in Jackson County, Alabama.
A neighborhood and historic district in Homewood, Jefferson County, Alabama.
A city in Broward County, Florida.
- FLL is located between Fort Lauderdale and Hollywood.2020 January 7, Rebecca Wallwork, “Which South Florida airport should I fly into?”, in CNN, archived from the original on 17 Mar 2026
An unincorporated community in Habersham County, Georgia.
An unincorporated community in St. Mary's County, Maryland, named for a large holly tree.
An unincorporated community and township in Carver County, Minnesota.
An unincorporated community in Tunica County, Mississippi.
An unincorporated community in Dunklin County, Missouri.
A neighborhood of Ruidoso, Lincoln County, New Mexico.
A neighborhood in north-east Portland, Oregon.

Show 13 more meaningsShow fewer meanings

A neighborhood of Hazleton, Luzerne County, Pennsylvania.
An unincorporated community in Abington Township, Montgomery County, Pennsylvania.
A town in Charleston County, South Carolina.
A neighborhood in north Memphis, Tennessee.
An unincorporated community in Appomattox County, Virginia.
An unincorporated community in Pittsylvania County, Virginia.
An unincorporated community in Monroe County, West Virginia.
Former name of MacArthur, West Virginia.
A village in west County Wicklow, Ireland.
A village in Wythall parish, Bromsgrove district, Worcestershire, England (OS grid ref SP0877).
A barangay of Guiuan, Eastern Samar, Philippines.
A nickname for someone involved with the film industry or celebrity culture.
A surname

Adjective

Hollywood (comparative more Hollywood, superlative most Hollywood)

Resembling or relating to the Hollywood movie industry.
- As many critics pointed out, the timely (but mostly tame and light) comedy was not too controversial, but too popular, too American, and too Hollywood to headline a festival that was scheduled to screen the likes of Robert Bresson's Un Feme Douce, Jean-Luc Godard's Le Gai Savior, Eric Rohmer's My...2002, Jon E. Lewis, Hollywood v. Hard Core: How the Struggle Over Censorship Created the Modern Film Industry, pages 168–169
- What did they say when they shipped you away to fight somebody's Hollywood war?2007, Jason Isbell, Dress Blues
Of or characteristic of a Hollywood film.
- A Time reporter called Reagan "Hollywood handsome and remarkably youthful in appearance", a candidate who had "rattled political seismographs from coast to coast."2002, Kirse Granat May, Golden State, Golden Youth

Noun

Hollywood (plural Hollywoods)

A waxing practice that removes all of the pubic hair, unlike a Brazilian which leaves a small strip behind.
- If you ask the woman who does your waxing she will tell you that everyone is asking for Brazilians or Hollywoods, including Gwyneth Paltrow […]2009, Shane Watson, How to Meet a Man After Forty and Other Midlife Dilemmas

Verb

Hollywood (third-person singular simple present Hollywoods, present participle Hollywooding, simple past and past participle Hollywooded)

To engage in Hollywooding (various senses).

Hollywood meaning in Hindi, Marathi, Urdu and Bengali

Hollywood in Hindi

area of Los Angeles: हॉलीवुड hŏlīvuḍ
the American motion picture industry: हॉलीवुड hŏlīvuḍ

Hollywood in Marathi

area of Los Angeles: हॉलीवुड hŏlīvuḍ
the American motion picture industry: हॉलीवुड hŏlīvuḍ

Hollywood in Urdu

the American motion picture industry: ہالی ووڈ hālī vuḍ, ہالیووڈ hālīvuḍ, ہالی وڈ hālī vuḍ, ہالیوڈ hālīvuḍ

Hollywood in Bengali

area of Los Angeles: হলিউড holiuḍ
the American motion picture industry: হলিউড holiuḍ

More languagesFewer languages

Hollywood in Gujarati: હોલીવુડ holīvuḍ
Hollywood in Nepali: हलिवुड haliwuḍ
Hollywood in Arabic: هُولِيوُود holiwūd
Hollywood in Persian: هالیوود hâlivud
Hollywood in Thai: ฮอลลีวูด hɔn-lii-wúut
Hollywood in Vietnamese: Hô-li-út, Hoa Lệ Ước, Hồ Ly Vọng
Hollywood in Myanmar: ဟောလိဝုဒ် hau:li.wud

Examples of Hollywood in a sentence

The district passed over in going to these beaches has been named Hollywood.1924, Marilynn Conners, “That Fascinating Hollywood”, in What Chance Have I in Hollywood? Intimate Information Concerning the Movie Capital...
But, as with Hollywood, the subplots and exotic locations may distract from the real message: America’s discomfort and its foes’ glee.2013 June 29, “Travels and travails”, in The Economist, volume 407, number 8842, archived from the original on 12 Mar 2023, page 55:
The film is at once too Hollywood and too realistic.2013, Marc Raymond, Hollywood's New Yorker: The Making of Martin Scorsese, page 68:

Synonyms of Hollywood

Hollywoodland

Forms of Hollywood

Proper noun
plural	Hollywoods
Adjective
comparative	more Hollywood
superlative	most Hollywood
Noun
plural	Hollywoods
Verb
third-person singular present	Hollywoods
present participle	Hollywooding
past participle	Hollywooded
past	Hollywooded

Origin of Hollywood

The name of the neighbourhood in Los Angeles (proper noun sense 1) was coined by real estate developer H. J. Whitley, from holly + wood. By metonymy, it became the name of the industry, and eventually also a name for decadence.

Phrases with Hollywood

10 more phrasesFewer phrases

Words that rhyme with Hollywood

Questions about Hollywood

What does Hollywood mean?: Hollywood means a neighbourhood of Los Angeles, California, known as the center of the American motion picture industry.
What is Hollywood in Hindi?: Hollywood in Hindi is हॉलीवुड (hŏlīvuḍ). See Hollywood meaning in Hindi.
How do you use Hollywood in a sentence?: The district passed over in going to these beaches has been named Hollywood.
What part of speech is Hollywood?: Hollywood can be a proper noun, an adjective, a noun or a verb.
How do you pronounce Hollywood?: Hollywood is pronounced /ˈhɒ.li.wʊd/ (UK).

Words near Hollywood in the dictionary

Adapted from Wiktionary: Hollywood (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.

Last updated: 2026-09-02

Pronunciation audio from Wikimedia Commons, each file under its own free license: LL-Q1860 (eng)-Vealhurl-Hollywood.wav.

Cite this entry: “Hollywood.” Word.ws, https://word.ws/hollywood. Based on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.