telephoto

1 of 3

adjective

tele·​pho·​to ˌte-lə-ˈfō-(ˌ)tō 

: being a camera lens system designed to give a large image of a distant object

also : relating to or being photography in which a telephoto lens is used

telephoto

2 of 3

noun

plural telephotos

1

: a telephoto lens

2

: a photograph taken with a camera having a telephoto lens

Telephoto

3 of 3

trademark

—used for an apparatus for transmitting photographs electrically or for a photograph so transmitted

Examples of telephoto in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

Noun

The 48-megapixel main camera with 12-megapixel 2X telephoto and additional ultra-wide camera enable users to take macro shots and spacial (3D) photos and videos. —Mary Walrath-Holdridge, USA TODAY, 9 Sep. 2024

That's pretty unusual at this price, especially since one of the cameras is a 50-MP 4X telephoto. —Julian Chokkattu, WIRED, 14 Aug. 2024

Like last year, the Pixel 9 Pro series has a 48-megapixel telephoto camera offering 5X optical zoom. —Julian Chokkattu, WIRED, 13 Aug. 2024

The Pixel 9 Pro and XL tout a third camera, a 48 MP 5x telephoto that zooms up to 10x at optical quality and 30x through software. —Kevin Purdy, Ars Technica, 13 Aug. 2024

Word History

First Known Use

Adjective

1893, in the meaning defined above

Noun

1894, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Phrases Containing telephoto

• telephoto lens

Kids Definition

telephoto

adjective

tele·​pho·​to

ˌtel-ə-ˈfōt-ō

: being a camera lens designed to give a large image of a distant object