multimedia

multimedia — adjective

1. describes a product, presentation, or system that brings together different type

1.adjectiveB1
Definition

describes a product, presentation, or system that brings together different types of content — such as text, photographs, video, animation, and sound — within a single experience, especially on a computer or in entertainment.

Example

Amelia created a multimedia presentation for her science project on climate change.

multimedia + noun — attributive use

The company's new multimedia software lets users edit video, audio, and text in one program.

Common collocations
  • multimedia presentation
  • multimedia software
  • multimedia system
  • multimedia content
  • multimedia materials
  • multimedia show
  • multimedia exhibition
Synonyms
  • mixed-media

    more common in art and design contexts; emphasises physical materials rather than digital formats

  • multi-format

    focuses on file types or data formats rather than sensory content

  • interactive

    overlaps in digital products but highlights user participation rather than media variety

Antonyms
  • single-media

    describes content that uses only one form, such as text-only or audio-only

  • text-only

    specific to written content without images, video, or sound

Usage Note

Usually placed directly before a noun (a multimedia presentation, not 'a presentation multimedia'). Cannot be used in comparative or superlative forms — you cannot say 'more multimedia'.

Common Mistakes

She created a multimedia.
She created a multimedia presentation.
Multimedia is an adjective describing the noun, not a countable thing itself.
This phone is more multimedia than that one.
This phone has better multimedia features than that one.
Multimedia is not a gradable adjective.

multimedia — noun

Word family

  • multimodal
    adjectiveC1
  • medium
    nounB1
  • media
    nounA2
  • multi-
    prefixB1

Synonym discussion

Sense: adjective/1

All four words describe content that uses more than one form of communication, but they differ in scope and typical contexts. Multimedia is the broadest and most common term, used across technology, education, and entertainment for any combination of text, images, video, and sound. Mixed-media belongs primarily to fine art and design — a 'mixed-media painting' might include collage, paint, and fabric, but is not necessarily digital. Multi-format focuses on technical formats (PDF, MP4, HTML) rather than sensory channels, and is common in publishing and data management. Interactive overlaps when a product responds to user input, but it is possible to have an interactive text-only interface — interactivity and media variety are different qualities. In everyday use, multimedia is the safest choice for general descriptions of digital content, while mixed-media is preferred for physical artworks.

multimedia ↗mixed-mediamulti-formatinteractive ↗

Common collocations

Nouns

  • multimedia presentation
  • multimedia software
  • multimedia system
  • multimedia content
  • multimedia project

Phrases

  • form of multimedia
  • use of multimedia
  • advances in multimedia
  • skills in multimedia

Prepositions

  • in multimedia
  • with multimedia

Etymology

LatinEnglish

Formed in English in the mid-20th century from the prefix multi- (meaning 'many', from Latin multus) and media (the plural of medium, from Latin medium, 'a middle ground or channel'). The term first appeared in the 1950s in education and the arts, but became widely used in the 1980s and 1990s with the spread of personal computers that could handle sound, pictures, and video together.