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

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Example Sentences

See Examples For:

paparazzi paparazzo

Right after I finished “Black Hawk Down,” I decided to get back to Minnesota, where I grew up … There’s no paparazzi in Minnesota.

From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 8, 2026

After the hounding of Diana by the paparazzi, he says he personally rang tabloid newspaper editors to disinvite them from the Abbey funeral, after their invitations had already been sent out.

From BBC ● Sep. 21, 2026

But she was the one that the paparazzi hounded most fiercely, feeding malicious tabloid coverage focused on her body image and weight.

From Salon ● Aug. 19, 2026

As firms face an exit slowdown and a yearslong fundraising slump, an unexpected wave of good PR has come in the form of paparazzi photos featuring high-profile pairings.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 8, 2026

Piper had wished for that her whole life, with her dad’s fame, the paparazzi, the photos and scandal stories in the press.

From "Blood of Olympus" by Rick Riordan

Kirkland was not a paparazzo: Stars looked to him for portrayals of themselves that were distinctive and flattering.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Feb. 13, 2026

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

From BBC ● Feb. 26, 2024

The veteran paparazzo said he decided to report the attack to police despite not being seriously injured.

From Seattle Times ● Feb. 26, 2024

The head-shaving incident, an infamous pop-culture moment that was immortalized by a paparazzo, also supported a damaging narrative that the singer had become increasingly erratic.

From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 18, 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

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