auteur
Americannoun
plural
auteurs-
a filmmaker whose individual style and complete control over all elements of production give a film its personal and unique stamp.
noun
-
a director whose creative influence on a film is so great as to be considered its author
Other Word Forms
- auteurism noun
- auteurist adjective
Etymology
Origin of auteur
1960–65; < French: literally, author, originator < Latin auctor. See author
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
Any movie lover with half a mind knows that the auteur theory is bunk.
From The Wall Street Journal • Mar. 13, 2026
Squarespace is the venue for the latest collaboration between Emma Stone and auteur director Yorgos Lanthimos.
From Slate • Feb. 8, 2026
Yet despite the struggles of its parent company Warner Bros Discovery, the storied movie studio has enjoyed a banner year, bucking Tinseltown's obsession with sequels and backing original fare from auteur filmmakers.
From Barron's • Jan. 20, 2026
For “Serious People,” Gutiérrez and Mullinkosson invoked arthouse references, such as the vignettes in the films of Swedish auteur Roy Andersson, or the surveillance feel of Jonathan Glazer’s “The Zone of Interest.”
From Los Angeles Times • Dec. 31, 2025
Relevant here, of course, is Foucault’s famous discussion of the author function: ‘Qu’est-ce qu’un auteur?’
From "The Invention of Science" by David Wootton
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.