on-screen

adverb or adjective

variants or onscreen
1
: in a movie or a television program
But the makers of the 1958 movie understood that this most subtle of writers was telling a tale about the froth of life, and they celebrated it on-screen with gusto.Gerald Asher
The sixth-grader reportedly earned $1 million for starring in the upcoming My Girl, which pairs him with Anna Chlumsky for his first onscreen kiss.Alexander Tresniowski
2
: on a computer or television screen
You can watch a football game, see a small icon onscreen offering player statistics, click it with the remote, and view the stats.Edward W. Desmond
… handheld joysticks and gamepads that jolt and jar with the on-screen action.Leigh Gallagher

Examples of on-screen in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web
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Below are more tributes to Big Pussy from his on-screen family. Bethy Squires, Vulture, 2 Aug. 2026 Jay Shetty’s podcast studio needed to be warm, inviting and beautiful—both on-screen and off—as his chart-topping podcast, On Purpose re-launched on Netflix. Genevieve Walker, Architectural Digest, 2 Aug. 2026 Noticeably absent from the reboot was John Mahoney, who played Grammer’s on-screen father, Martin Crane. Stephanie Nolasco, FOXNews.com, 1 Aug. 2026 Tashi is a former tennis prodigy who coached her on-screen husband Art in the sport. Audrey Schmidt, PEOPLE, 1 Aug. 2026 See All Example Sentences for on-screen

Word History

First Known Use

1929, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Time Traveler
The first known use of on-screen was in 1929

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Cite this Entry

“On-screen.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/on-screen. Accessed 7 Aug. 2026.

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