camera

¹ American  

[kam-er-uh, kam-ruh] / ˈkæm ər ə, ˈkæm rə /

noun

1. a device for capturing a photographic image or recording a video, using film or digital memory.

2. (in a television transmitting apparatus) the device in which the picture to be televised is formed before it is changed into electric impulses.

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adjective

1. Printing. camera-ready.

idioms

1. on camera, being filmed or televised by a live camera.

   Be sure to look alert when you are on camera.

2. off camera,

   1. out of the range of a video camera, as a television or motion picture camera.

      The stunt woman was waiting just off camera for her cue to enter the scene.

   2. (of an actor) in one’s private rather than professional life.

      The two co-stars are best friends off camera.

camera ² American  

[kam-er-uh] / ˈkæm ər ə /

noun

• camerae
  plural

1. a judge's private office.

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idioms

1. in camera,

   1. Law. in the privacy of a judge's chambers.

   2. privately.

camera British  

/ ˈkæmrə, ˈkæmərə /

noun

1. an optical device consisting of a lens system set in a light-proof construction inside which a light-sensitive film or plate can be positioned See also cine camera digital camera

2. television the equipment used to convert the optical image of a scene into the corresponding electrical signals

3. See camera obscura

4. a judge's private room

5. 1. law relating to a hearing from which members of the public are excluded

   2. in private

6. not within an area being filmed

7. (esp of an actor) being filmed

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Other Word Forms

Noun Inflected Forms

• camerae
  plural

Etymology

Origin of camera¹

First recorded in 1730–40; shortening of camera obscura ( def. ); 1840-45 camera ¹ for def. 1; utimately from Latin camera “vaulted room, vault”; see camera ² ( def. )

Origin of camera²

First recorded in 1630–40; for earlier sense “vaulted room,” from Latin, from Greek kamára “vault, vaulted room”; see chamber ( def. )

Explanation

A camera records images in the form of photographs, film or video. If you want evidence that you've spotted Bigfoot in the woods behind your house, you'll need a camera. The noun camera typically refers to a film or digital device that captures still pictures when you press a button. A film camera stores images on a strip of film that must be developed with special chemicals, while a digital camera keeps them on a memory card, and with the help of a computer you can see the pictures almost instantly. The original meaning of camera, "vaulted building," came from Latin via the Greek root kamera, "vaulted chamber."

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

camera camerae

While Flynn was careful to maintain a solemn courtroom persona, Satterlee and Hansen were caught smiling for the camera.

From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 2, 2026

Instead of showing your ID to a TSA agent, you look into a camera and are sent through.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 2, 2026

Researchers hope it could reduce the number of patients needing urgent, more invasive procedures, called cystoscopies, which involve inserting a small camera up the urethra and into the bladder.

From BBC ● Sep. 2, 2026

A gadget only a dentist could love — a $499 toothbrush with AI and a camera.

From MarketWatch ● Sep. 1, 2026

But he hadn’t played with the camera much since then.

From "Found" by Margaret Peterson Haddix

They were servi camerae, serfs of the state, and as such had to pay oppressive taxes.

From Jewish History : an essay in the philosophy of history by S. M. (Simon Markovich) Dubnow

Under the circumstances, if Chaucer ever was a "vallettus camerae Regis," we should expect him to have been so called more than once.

From Chaucer's Official Life by James Root Hulbert

Chambers, or camerae, monks', 47-50 Chapter House, 30 Charing Cross, 47 f.,

From William de Colchester Abbot of Westminster by Ernest Harold Pearce

Apparently he returned to court life in England, and to the duties of valettus camerae regis.

From Chaucer and His Times by Grace E. Hadow

Two questions of topography arise here, the position of the Garden and that of the chambers, or "camerae."

From William de Colchester Abbot of Westminster by Ernest Harold Pearce

Related Words

• camcorder