caption

1 of 2

noun

cap·​tion ˈkap-shən 

1

: the part of a legal document that shows where, when, and by what authority it was taken, found, or executed

2

a

: the heading especially of an article or document : title

b

: the explanatory comment or designation accompanying a pictorial illustration

read the caption for the names of the people in the picture

c

: a movie or television show subtitle

captionless

ˈkap-shən-ləs 

adjective

caption

2 of 2

verb

captioned; captioning ˈkap-sh(ə-)niŋ  ; captions

transitive verb

: to furnish with a caption

… confirm that photographs are correctly captioned and pages numbered sequentially.

—Publishers Weekly

… the captions and pictures are frequently out of sync, and the live local weather and sports segments are usually not captioned.

—Melvia M. and Ronald E. Nomeland

Synonyms

Noun

• cutline
• legend

Examples of caption in a Sentence

Noun

The caption on the picture says “This year's contest winners.”

for the school yearbook, funny captions were written for snapshots showing a typical day at school

Recent Examples on the Web

Noun

Elle, a 24-year-old influencer, uses the app for most of her work, including planning Instagram captions and writing essays for her Substack. —Charley Locke, The Atlantic, 13 Sep. 2024

The 2017 tune remains driven by a meme and trend on TikTok that features users posting videos of technicolor dolphins alongside humorous or dark captions. —Kevin Rutherford, Billboard, 12 Sep. 2024

Verb

Catherine Griffith, 39, uploaded an image of a remote footbridge leading into a forest captioned with the lyrics to the song the day before she was killed in the vicious knife attack in Auburndale. —Michael Dorgan, Fox News, 14 Sep. 2024

Castle star Nathan Fillion, who appeared in a five-episode arc as serial killer/priest Caleb in Buffy’s final season, also tried his hand at captioning the pic. —John Russell, Peoplemag, 11 Sep. 2024

Word History

Etymology

Noun and Verb

probably short for certificate of caption (taking, seizure)

First Known Use

Noun

circa 1670, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Verb

1848, in the meaning defined above

Kids Definition

caption

noun

cap·​tion

ˈkap-shən

1

: the heading especially of an article or document

2

: the explanation or description accompanying a pictorial illustration (as a cartoon or photograph)

3

: subtitle sense 2

caption verb

Legal Definition

caption

noun

cap·​tion ˈkap-shən 

: the part of a legal document that states the court, the names of the parties, the docket number, the title of the document, and sometimes the name of the judge

Etymology

Noun

Medieval Latin captio act of taking, from Latin capere to take