photo
noun
photo
1 American
[foh-toh]
/ ˈfoʊ toʊ /
photo-
2
American
photo
1
British
/ ˈfəʊtəʊ /
noun
photo-
2
British
combining form
-
of, relating to, or produced by light
photosynthesis
-
indicating a photographic process
photolithography
photo–
Scientific
Other Word Forms
Noun Inflected Forms
Etymology
Origin of photo1
First recorded in 1855–60; shortened form of photograph
Origin of photo-2
< Greek, combining form of phôs (genitive phōtós )
Explanation
Snap a picture with your camera and you get a photo, a recorded image made using light. To get a passport, driver's license, or school I.D., you need to have your photo taken. The word photo is short for photograph, a word whose Greek roots mean "written in light." It only took about 20 years after the invention of photographs for people to start using the colloquial (and quicker) photo. If you haven't visited a photo booth with your best friend, you really should; you'll leave with a strip of wonderfully silly photos of the two of you.
Vocabulary lists containing photo
Florida's B.E.S.T. Roots: photo
Looking to grow your vocabulary? Check out this interactive, curated word list from our team of English language specialists at Vocabulary.com – one of over 17,000 lists we've built to help learners worldwide!
Words to Know and Academic Words, Unit 3
Interested in learning more words like this one? Our team at Vocabulary.com has got you covered! You can review flashcards, quiz yourself, practice spelling, and more – and it's all completely free to use!
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
See Examples For:
“Just another day of watching Russia burn,” she wrote on Instagram this week, posting a photo of flames rising over a Siberian petrochemicals plant, to the soundtrack of The Prodigy’s “Firestarter.”
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 15, 2026
A similar photo of the houses on fire is also splashed across the front of today's Daily Mirror beside the headline "Britain on fire".
From BBC ● Aug. 14, 2026
On Wednesday, Crowley posted a chummy-looking photo of a breakfast meeting that included Hong and was captioned “Wisconsin Democrats are united.”
From Slate ● Aug. 14, 2026
She contrasted the magazine's photo with the "deaths caused by five heatwaves, a drought, and historic wildfires."
From Barron's ● Aug. 14, 2026
“Cool,” I said, reaching over to give the photo back.
From "Firegirl" by Tony Abbott
It is important to develop alternative methods based on photo- and electrocatalysis, taking advantage of the sustainable solar energy and abundance of omnipresent water.
From Science Daily ● Mar. 25, 2024
The photo- and video-sharing app Instagram is popular among U.S. teens, according to a Pew Research Center survey released this year.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 24, 2023
In addition to the social network Facebook, Meta also owns the photo- and video-sharing platform Instagram as well as the messaging application WhatsApp.
From Salon ● Oct. 30, 2021
While the new contenders are young, the amount of backing they are getting shows investors believe new social apps more narrowly focused on photo- and video-sharing, where WeChat is less dominant, could pay off.
From The Verge ● Oct. 17, 2018
They studied photo- graphs and technical drawings of the Vemork plant.
From "Bomb" by Steve Sheinkin
Looking at photos from each of the cities, it can sometimes be hard to tell where they are.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 17, 2026
"She doesn't look much different at all - she looks exactly the same as the old photos we have of her," she said.
From BBC ● Aug. 17, 2026
Her Instagram page once featured wholesome photos of architecture.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 15, 2026
A member of Macron's entourage said that the photos were not authorised.
From Barron's ● Aug. 14, 2026
Arthur Lundahl, the chief photo interpreter, opened a large black case and had begun sliding out photos when Caroline burst in for a visit.
From "Fallout: Spies, Superbombs, and the Ultimate Cold War Showdown" by Steve Sheinkin
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
