paparazzi

American  

[pah-puh-raht-see, pah-pah-raht-tsee] / ˌpɑ pəˈrɑt si, ˌpɑ pɑˈrɑt tsi /

plural noun

1. freelance photographers, especially those who take candid pictures of celebrities for publication.

   To evade the paparazzi, the actress sent her car to the front entrance and snuck in the back on foot.

   I felt like a paparazzo as I hung around waiting to catch a glimpse of the singer.

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Etymology

Origin of paparazzi

First recorded in 1965–70; from Italian, from the surname of such a photographer in Federico Fellini's ( def. ) La dolce vita (1959), of disputed origin

Example Sentences

Pidgeon: It was also that we were coming in on this advent of paparazzi.

From Los Angeles Times • Jun. 4, 2026

But McCarthy’s closest confidants are men who’ve never set foot on a film set, men never trailed by paparazzi, and it’s those relationships to which he tends in “Who Needs Friends.”

From Los Angeles Times • Mar. 25, 2026

In addition to the emotional space that Nashville afforded her, there was another very exciting upside to living in the Tennessee city that Simpson enjoyed: no paparazzi.

From MarketWatch • Mar. 18, 2026

Both brothers’ decisions are driven in part by an identical desire: to avoid inflicting on their own families a repeat of their own childhood trauma of seeing their mother chased to her death by paparazzi.

From The Wall Street Journal • Mar. 11, 2026

Would you rather have the paparazzi follow you around every minute of your life or never have anyone speak to you again?

From "P.S. I Miss You" by Jen Petro-Roy