bollywood

IPA/ˈbɒliwʊd/
KK[bˈɑlˌiwʊd]IPA/ˈbɑːliwʊd/

bollywood — noun

1. the Hindi-language movie industry centered in Mumbai, known for its popular song

1.nounB2
Definition

the Hindi-language movie industry centered in Mumbai, known for its popular songs, stars, and large-scale films

Example

Priya dreams of working in Bollywood as a costume designer.

in Bollywood for work in the industry

A Bollywood film opened the festival with music and dance.

Bollywood + film

Synonyms

Grammar Patterns

Bollywood + noun

in Bollywood

Usage Note

Usually written with a capital letter and used without an article when you mean the industry as a whole. Before another noun, it often describes films, actors, music, or dance styles from this industry.

Common Mistakes

Bollywood is all Indian cinema.
Bollywood is the Hindi-language film industry in Mumbai.
'Indian cinema' is broader and includes many other language industries.

Synonym discussion

Sense: noun/1

Bollywood is the best-known popular name for the Hindi-language film business centered in Mumbai, and it often suggests songs, dance, stars, and a strong mass-market style. Hindi film industry is more neutral and descriptive, so it works well when you want to be exact. Hindi cinema is common in reviews or academic writing, especially when the focus is on film as an art form. Indian cinema is much wider: it includes films made in Hindi and also movies in Tamil, Telugu, Bengali, Malayalam, and other Indian languages. You can say, 'She studies Hindi cinema at university,' but 'He wants to act in Bollywood.'

Bollywood ↗Hindi film industryHindi cinemaIndian cinema

Common collocations

Nouns

  • Bollywood film
  • Bollywood actor
  • Bollywood star
  • Bollywood music
  • Bollywood dance

Phrases

  • work in Bollywood
  • a Bollywood movie

Prepositions

  • in Bollywood

Etymology

English

This name was formed in English by blending Bombay, the former English name of Mumbai, with Hollywood. It became a popular way to refer to the Hindi-language film world based in Mumbai.