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Film & Television vocabulary · Television Formats and Series

Cliffhanger

Meaning in film & television, with examples

/ˈklɪfhæŋə/nounCommon term

In film & television, cliffhanger means: An exciting ending to an episode, season or film that leaves an important question unanswered so the audience wants to see what happens next.

In Turkish: merakta bırakan son, heyecanlı bölüm sonu, cliffhanger

How it is used

Series end episodes and seasons on a cliffhanger to keep viewers coming back. The word comes from old adventure serials whose episodes ended with a hero in danger, sometimes literally hanging from a cliff.

Example sentences

  1. The season ended on a huge cliffhanger: we don't know if she survived.

  2. Every episode needs a cliffhanger before the final credits.

Common collocations

  • end on a cliffhanger
  • season cliffhanger
  • big cliffhanger
  • leave on a cliffhanger
  • episodeOne part of a TV series, podcast or web series that is broadcast or released as a separate programme.
  • seasonA group of episodes of a TV series produced and released as one set, usually once a year.
  • plot twistA sudden, unexpected development in a story that changes how the audience understands what has happened.
  • seriesA TV or streaming programme made of many episodes that share the same characters, subject or story.

This word in other fields

The same English word can have a different meaning in another field:

More terms: Television Formats and Series

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