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auteur

American  
[oh-tur, oh-tœr] / oʊˈtɜr, oʊˈtœr /

noun

plural

auteurs

  1. a filmmaker whose individual style and complete control over all elements of production give a film its personal and unique stamp.

auteur British  
/ ɔːˈtɜː /

noun

  1. a director whose creative influence on a film is so great as to be considered its author

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Other Word Forms

  • auteurism noun
  • auteurist adjective

Etymology

Origin of auteur

1960–65; < French: literally, author, originator < Latin auctor. See author

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.