Online OXFORD Collocation Dictionary

scene noun

¹ place where sth happened

ADJ. accident, crash, murder footprints found near the murder scene

VERB + SCENE attend, be on PC Michael Potter attended the scene. | arrive at/on, reach An ambulance soon arrived at the scene of the accident. | leave | be called to The police were called to the scene. | survey He surveyed the scene with horror.

PREP. at the ~ Police say the man died at the scene. | on the ~ Photographers were on the scene in seconds. | ~ of The criminal often revisits the scene of the crime.

² what you see around you

ADJ. beautiful, charming, idyllic, peaceful, picturesque | appalling, distressing, horrific | touching | bizarre, extraordinary, strange She opened the door on an extraordinary scene of disorder. | familiar | domestic a touching domestic scene | ever-changing I stared out of the window of the train on the ever-changing scene. | city, country, rural, street

VERB + SCENE watch, witness

SCENE + VERB occur, take place, unfold We sat in horror watching the scenes of violence unfold before us. | be reminiscent of sth Paramedics tended the wounded in scenes reminiscent of wartime.

PREP. amid/amidst ~s of The star arrived amidst scenes of excitement. | in a/the ~ | ~ from scenes from Greek mythology | ~ of He painted scenes of country life. The battlefield was a scene of utter carnage.

PHRASES a change of scene You're exhausted. What you need is a complete change of scene.

³ one part of book, play, etc.

ADJ. opening | climactic, final, last | dramatic, funny, steamy, touching, tragic The film has several steamy bedroom scenes. | action, battle, bedroom, crowd, death, fight, love, nude, sex

VERB + SCENE act, play She plays the love scenes brilliantly. | rehearse, run through to run through the final scene again | film, shoot | set The scene is set in the first paragraph with an account of Sally's childhood. | change | steal The little girl stole the scene from all the big stars.

SCENE + VERB take place | shift Then the scene shifts to the kitchen.

SCENE + NOUN change

PREP. in a/the ~ He appears in the opening scene. | ~ between There is a dramatic fight scene between the two brothers.

PHRASES behind the scenes (= behind the stage), a change of scene

⁴ public display of anger, etc.

ADJ. big | little | angry, ugly, unpleasant, terrible | emotional, violent

VERB + SCENE cause, create, make Quiet, now! Don't make a scene! | have

PREP. ~ between There have been a couple of ugly scenes between him and the manager. | ~ with She had some terrible scenes with her father.

⁵ area of activity

ADJ. burgeoning, flourishing, lively | contemporary | international, local, world | art, club, comedy, drug/drugs, economic, education/educational, fashion, gay, literary, music/musical, political, social, sporting, etc. He is heavily involved in the local art scene.

VERB + SCENE be involved in, be part of | appear on, arrive on, come on/onto Owen arrived on the international scene in the 1998 World Cup. | vanish from Many of the stars of the nineties have completely vanished from the music scene. | dominate

PREP. on/onto the ~ the eruption of Cuban music onto the world scene

PHRASES a newcomer to the scene The film's dir | not your scene (informal) Hillwalking is not my scene, so I stayed at home.