1
a
: a device that consists of a lightproof chamber with an aperture fitted with a lens and a shutter through which the image of an object is projected onto a surface for recording (as on a photosensitive film or an electronic sensor) or for translation into electrical impulses (as for television broadcast)
b
2
: the treasury department of the papal curia
see also off camera, on camera
Examples of camera in a Sentence
Recent Examples on the Web
In what became 16 infamous seconds of 2025, two corporate executives were caught on camera intimately dancing together on a video board at a Coldplay concert in July.
—
Mason Leath, ABC News, 27 Dec. 2025
In the final seconds of episode five of Heated Rivalry, the music fades, and the camera tightens around Ilya Rosanov (Connor Storrie) and Shane Hollander (Hudson Williams).
—Chris Dong, USA Today, 27 Dec. 2025
Instead, the camera simply observes these lives, which are astonishing in their ugliness, danger, and dread.
—Kevin Jacobsen, Entertainment Weekly, 27 Dec. 2025
She could be seen making faces and smiling to the camera as multiple pictures were snapped.
—Kimberlee Speakman, PEOPLE, 27 Dec. 2025
See All Example Sentences for camera
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Mason Leath, ABC News, 27 Dec. 2025
In the final seconds of episode five of Heated Rivalry, the music fades, and the camera tightens around Ilya Rosanov (Connor Storrie) and Shane Hollander (Hudson Williams).
—Chris Dong, USA Today, 27 Dec. 2025
Instead, the camera simply observes these lives, which are astonishing in their ugliness, danger, and dread.
—Kevin Jacobsen, Entertainment Weekly, 27 Dec. 2025
She could be seen making faces and smiling to the camera as multiple pictures were snapped.
—Kimberlee Speakman, PEOPLE, 27 Dec. 2025
See All Example Sentences for camera
Cite this Entry
“Camera.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/camera. Accessed 28 Dec. 2025.
Copy CitationKids Definition
camera
noun
cam·era
ˈkam-(ə-)rə 
1
: a judge's private office
hearings held in camera
2
: a lightproof box fitted with a lens through which the image of an object is projected onto a surface that is sensitive to light for recording (as on film) or for converting into electrical signals (as for a live television broadcast)
Etymology
from Latin camera "room, chamber"; sense 2 from the scientific Latin phrase camera obscura, literally, "dark chamber" — related to chamber
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