English Reference
noun · verb

montage

n. · v.
US /mɑnˈtɑʒ/ UK /mˈɒntɑːʒ/ mon·tage UK spelling montaged, montages, montaging

  1. 01 B2 Upper Intermediate Theatre

    n.a series of short film clips shown quickly one after another, often with music, to show a long period of time passing.

    n.a cinematic technique in which a series of short shots are edited into a sequence to condense space, time, and information.

    Simple

    The movie included a training montage showing the athlete getting stronger over several months.

    In context

    The director employed a fast-paced montage to illustrate the protagonist's rise to power over the course of a decade.

    Usage

    Often used with 'training' or 'opening' to describe specific film tropes.

  2. 02 C1 Advanced Technical

    n.a single picture or piece of art made by joining many different images or objects together.

    n.a single composition created by juxtaposing or overlapping various pictorial elements, often from different sources.

    Simple

    She created a beautiful montage of old family photos for her grandfather's birthday.

    In context

    The gallery featured a striking montage of industrial textures and urban landscapes, challenging the viewer's perception of city life.

    collagecompositephotomontage
  3. 03 C2 Proficiency TechnicalFormal

    v.to put different pieces of film, music, or pictures together into one work.

    v.to combine disparate elements into a composite work; to depict a subject through the process of montage.

    Simple

    The editor spent hours trying to montage the news clips into a coherent story.

    In context

    The documentary-maker chose to montage archival footage with modern interviews to highlight the historical parallels.

None of the speakers preceding Trump brought up the conflict, which was only featured in a brief video montage in the official programming.

Al Jazeera· 10 Sept 2026

, La matière denaturalisée. Destruction 2. (Denatured Matter. Destruction 2.; c. 1923), from the collection of the Fries Museum in Leeuwarden, Friesland, Netherlands. The work is a collage, a type of montage.]] Unadapted borrowing from French montage (“assembly, set-up”).

Etymology adapted from Wiktionary, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.

This entry
Level C1 · Advanced
Frequency Frequent
Updated