caption

noun cap·tion \ ˈkap-shən \

Definition of caption

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

play \-ləs\ adjective

See caption defined for English-language learners

See caption defined for kids

Examples of caption in a Sentence

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 of caption from the Web

E-car subsidies: In the Aug. 28 Section A, a photo caption accompanying an article about electric car incentives identified a vehicle in a carpool lane as a Nissan Leaf.

— latimes.com, "For the Record," 29 Aug. 2017
Even Fonda, who was born into Hollywood royalty via father Henry Fonda, gushed over Hunter in her photo caption.

— hilary weaver, Vanities, "Jane Fonda Just Assembled the Ultimate Star-Studded Friend Group," 28 Aug. 2017
That last caption is pretty funny, but not as funny as how Lively's husband Ryan Reynolds wished her happy birthday.

— christopher rosa, Glamour, "Blake Lively Had the Coziest Birthday Party Ever With Anna Kendrick, Lorraine Schwartz, and More Friends," 28 Aug. 2017
For example, check whether your website is compatible with screen readers, contains closed captions on videos, and allows for keyboard navigation.

— carol c. lumpkin and stephanie n. moot, miamiherald, "South Florida businesses, get ready for a wave of website-accessibility lawsuits," 27 Aug. 2017
In the caption of a photo of herself—nearly naked, holding a dog dressed in a hot dog costume, no less—

— claire zillman, Fortune, "Amy Schumer on Equal Pay, Girls Scouts’ Turf War, and Women Light Up in Indonesia," 25 Aug. 2017
The dogs appear in alphabetical order, and caption info is from when the dog was nominated for the contest.

— brenda cain, cleveland.com, "It's National Dog Day on Saturday; celebrate with a look back at Cleveland's Top 100 Cutest Dogs," 25 Aug. 2017
There's nothing wrong with a sappy caption on an anniversary photo.

— anthea levi, Health.com, "What Your Social Media Posts Can Say About Your Relationship," 24 Aug. 2017
The man was also identified in picture captions as being Foer.

— lisa ryan, The Cut, "Michelle Williams Kissed Someone, But It Definitely Wasn’t Jonathan Safran Foer," 19 July 2017

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'caption.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

Origin and Etymology of caption

probably short for certificate of caption (taking, seizure)

NEW! Time Traveler

First Known Use: circa 1670

See Words from the same year

caption Synonyms

Synonyms

cutline, legend

Related Words

key; closed-captioning, subtitle, translation; motto, posy, slogan, tagline

Other Publishing Terms

annotate, dreadful, emend, expurgate, factoid, jump, lobster shift, redaction, referee

caption

verb

Definition of caption

captioned; captioning play \-sh(ə-)niŋ\

transitive verb

:to furnish with a caption

Almost all live TV sports events are captioned for the hearing-impaired.

Recent Examples of caption from the Web

The half-hour simulcast starts Monday and will be presented in English with closed captioning in Spanish.

— hal boedeker, OrlandoSentinel.com, "WESH to simulcast 5 p.m. news on Estrella TV Orlando," 25 July 2017
Ciara captioned the photo of her feet standing on a scale that read 178.6 pounds.

— anthea levi, Health.com, "Why Tracking Your Weight Loss on Social Media (Like Ciara) Can Actually Help," 30 June 2017
Moore captioned one of her wedding pictures that showed her and Marc fist-bumping under a flower arch.

— karen mizoguchi, PEOPLE.com, "RHOA's Kenya Moore Shares Photos From St. Lucia Wedding to Husband Marc," 20 June 2017
Captioning on YouTube videos could be standard, while radio shows and podcasts could become accessible to the hard of hearing on a mass scale.

— greg noone, The Atlantic, "When AI Can Transcribe Everything," 20 June 2017
Her subjects are often featured in black-and-white portraits, captioned with a blurb on the woman's historical legacy and sometimes a direct quote.

— jean ho, NBC News, "Photo Project Highlights Asian Female Trailblazers Missing from Classrooms," 26 May 2017
Per Billboard: The rapper captioned his photo: FINALLYYYYYYYYYDMRNEJSOFBRVRI.

— alysha tsuji, USA TODAY, "Allen Iverson meets rapper behind ‘White Iverson’," 26 May 2017
The device provides detailed descriptions (via audio, amplified audio, or captioning) of attractions and outdoor surroundings.

— rachel rabkin peachman, Condé Nast Traveler, "The Best Vacations for Special Needs Families," 16 May 2017
The Scream Queens star only captioned the image with a heart.

— stephanie petit, EW.com, "Billie Lourd remembers mom Carrie Fisher with sweet Mother's Day photo," 14 May 2017

Origin and Etymology of caption

see ¹caption

NEW! Time Traveler

First Known Use: 1848

See Words from the same year

CAPTION Defined for English Language Learners

caption

noun

Definition of caption for English Language Learners

: a sentence or group of words that is written on or next to a picture to explain what is being shown

CAPTION Defined for Kids

caption

noun cap·tion \ ˈkap-shən \

Definition of caption for Students

:a comment or title that goes with a picture

Law Dictionary

caption

noun cap·tion \ ˈkap-shən \

legal Definition of caption

: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