selfie

American  

[sel-fee] / ˈsɛl fi /

noun

Informal.

• selfies
  plural

1. a photograph taken with a smartphone or other digital camera by a person who is also in the photograph, especially for posting on a social media website.

   celebrities sharing selfies on Twitter.

---

Other Word Forms

Noun Inflected Forms

• selfies
  plural

---

Etymology

Origin of selfie

First recorded in 2000–05; self + -ie

---

Explanation

If you flip your cellphone around to take a photo of yourself, you'll end up with a selfie. When you visit Paris, don't forget to take a selfie at night with the Eiffel Tower in the background! Selfie is a true 21st-century word, coined around 2002 in Australia. This type of slang word formation — known as a hypocorism, or nickname — is incredibly popular in that country, where a mosquito is a mozzie and a present is a prezzie. By 2013, using cellphones to snap casual self-portraits was so common that the Oxford English Dictionary named selfie its word of the year.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

selfie selfies

Lula has even dubbed himself the "selfie king," embracing informal, direct-to-camera campaign videos.

From Barron's ● Oct. 16, 2026

The selfie camera got bumped up to 18 megapixels and the rear telephoto camera increased to 48 megapixels, with 8X zoom.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 19, 2026

Reporting on their "emotional reunion", Reuters said "tears, hugs and laughter punctuated their meeting... followed by their first selfie together".

From BBC ● Sep. 12, 2026

Gen Z loves nothing more than a good selfie, and the iPhone Duo has some game-changing features on that front.

From Barron's ● Sep. 10, 2026

One hour ago he posted a selfie, and I don’t know why Harriett said he was sick because he looks pretty damn healthy.

From "What If It's Us" by Becky Albertalli and Adam Silvera

Wardley arrived more than an hour before the event, appearing as relaxed as he has throughout fight week and even stopping for selfies with supporters afterwards.

From BBC ● Oct. 16, 2026

The student journalist turned civic mobiliser launched a voter registration drive on social media earlier this year, using snappy selfies infused with music and humour to target young people.

From BBC ● Oct. 1, 2026

The detail that the average person takes 450 selfies a year is powerful, especially when contextualized against their disposability—compared, for example, with the daguerreotype.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 15, 2026

One luxury that the girls shared was a camera, and they were snapping selfies before the word was even coined.

From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 9, 2026

While Ms. Sitton and Mrs. Thornton check us into the hotel room, all the girls use their cell phones to take selfies and post them on the Internet.

From "The Miscalculations of Lightning Girl" by Stacy McAnulty

Random Word

Spin the wheel and learn a new word!

---