paparazzi

American  

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

plural noun

• paparazzo
  singular

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

See Examples For:

paparazzi paparazzo

The actress was 17 when it launched and the fame came with new levels of attention, including from swarms of paparazzi.

From BBC ● Aug. 17, 2026

Jenner hates the paparazzi for invading her privacy but sees no moral quandary in collecting a check from Mark Zuckerberg, who wants to invade everyone’s privacy.

From Slate ● Aug. 5, 2026

“Here, they don’t take photos of kids. There aren’t any paparazzi hidden at the school gates. That’s No. 1 for us,” George said.

From MarketWatch ● Aug. 3, 2026

His concerns were shaped by the death of his mother, Diana, Princess of Wales, who was killed in a car crash in Paris in 1997 while being pursued by paparazzi.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 7, 2026

“The mommas and their cubs come out of their dens in the spring and head straight for the bay to start looking for food. After posing for the polar bear paparazzi, of course.”

From "Two Degrees" by Alan Gratz

In these images Sellers—a comic giant at the height of his career—acts as an eager paparazzo chasing after the self-assured ingénue.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Feb. 13, 2026

“The Netflix effect does knock you off center completely,” he says, recalling the experience of finding a paparazzo waiting outside his new flat before he’d even moved in.

From Los Angeles Times ● May 14, 2024

Australian police are investigating an allegation by a paparazzo that he was assaulted by Taylor Swift's father.

From BBC ● Feb. 26, 2024

“With Kevin away so much, no one was around to see me spiral—except every paparazzo in America.”

From Seattle Times ● Oct. 19, 2023

Courteous and exuberant — he was no annoying paparazzo — Mr. Kirkland was welcomed into stars’ homes and hotel rooms and onto movie sets.

From New York Times ● Oct. 9, 2022