paparazzo

noun

pa·​pa·​raz·​zo ˌpä-pə-ˈrät-(ˌ)sō 

plural paparazzi ˌpä-pə-ˈrät-(ˌ)sē 

: a freelance photographer who aggressively pursues celebrities for the purpose of taking candid photographs

a movie star surrounded by a swarm of paparazzi

Examples of paparazzo in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

The tabloids began probing their private lives; paparazzi tracked them down. —Liz McNeil, PEOPLE, 23 Sep. 2025

Despite not flaunting Idris in her vacation photo dump, the two were photographed by paparazzi. —Mya Abraham, VIBE.com, 22 Sep. 2025

At one point, one of the dancers held a camera and microphone in front of Lorde, walking in front of her like a pseudo-paparazzo, the omnipresent sea of phone cameras below also capturing every move. —Rachel Seo, Variety, 20 Sep. 2025

Perhaps all the shouts by the paparazzi upon Hargitay’s arrival were because she’s garnered such praise for My Mom Jayne, the 2025 documentary about her mother, actress Jayne Mansfield? —Laurie Brookins, HollywoodReporter, 12 Sep. 2025

Word History

Etymology

Italian, from Paparazzo, surname of such a photographer in the film La dolce vita (1959) by Federico Fellini

First Known Use

1961, in the meaning defined above

Rhymes for paparazzo

• palazzo
• terrazzo

Kids Definition

paparazzo

noun

pa·​pa·​raz·​zo ˌpä-pə-ˈrät-(ˌ)sō 

plural paparazzi ˌpä-pə-ˈrät-(ˌ)sē 

: a freelance photographer who aggressively pursues celebrities for the purpose of taking candid photographs