caption

play

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
2a : the heading especially of an article or document : titleb : the explanatory comment or designation accompanying a pictorial illustration read the caption for the names of the people in the picturec : 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

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
Not only this, but the captions on the photos are usually something along the lines of asking them to visit or call soon, or to come home and see him.

— brianna wiest, Teen Vogue, "Mohamed Hadid Instagrams Pleas For Gigi and Bella to Call or Visit Him," 19 July 2017
To view this video please enable JavaScript, and consider upgrading to a web browser that supports HTML5 video Caption Settings Dialog Beginning of dialog window.

— jonathan m. gitlin, Ars Technica, "Bosch took us for a ride in its level 3 autonomous car," 18 July 2017
Also corrected is the national ranking of the Port of Oakland as described in one of the picture captions.

— ngoc nguyen, Kaiser Health News, "Has California Hit The Brakes In Regulating Breath-Robbing Big Rigs?," 18 July 2017
See the photo below and offer your best caption in the comments.

— stephen a. crockett jr., The Root, "Caption This: Evangelical Leaders Lay Hands on President," 12 July 2017
One translation of the caption describes a lively port that regularly hosted schooner races—with no mention of Earhart or Noonan to be found.

— michael greshko, National Geographic, "Amelia Earhart 'Lost Photograph' Discredited," 11 July 2017
Caption Settings Dialog Beginning of dialog window.

— jonathan evans, Esquire, "Watch the Boss Spring/Summer 2018 Menswear Show Live," 11 July 2017
Hurd’s most recent Instagram post was a snap of him and Morris heading out on a boat ride with the date, July 3, as the caption.

— stephanie petit, EW.com, "Maren Morris and Ryan Hurd are engaged," 9 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

Other Publishing Terms

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

caption

verb cap·tion

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

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
Judy Dechert Rose captioned the photo that has since gone viral.

— Southern Living, "This Texas Lowe's Did Something Incredible for a Disabled Vet And His Service Dog," 1 May 2017
This first collaboration between Univision and Netflix will be broadcast in Spanish (with English close-captioning available) in three separate cycles before streaming on Netflix at a later date.

— kathryn shattuck, New York Times, "What’s on TV Sunday: ‘El Chapo’ and ‘Mary Kills People’," 23 Apr. 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

play

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

play

noun cap·tion \ˈkap-shən\

Definition of caption for Students

: a comment or title that goes with a picture

Law Dictionary

caption

play

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