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

Wes Streeting has said there was "no ill intent" behind comments he made about the early prisoner release scheme, which were caught on camera.

From BBC ● Jul. 22, 2026

A camera connected to a light microscope records the fossils, and the color information is converted into an average gray scale value.

From Science Daily ● Jul. 22, 2026

“So Hoyte and I are able to just look at it and go, ‘OK, let’s put a camera on this.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 20, 2026

Holding her camera and notebook, archaeologist Micheline Kurdi walked through the ruins to document the site's state and plan the first "quick interventions" to restore it, she told AFP.

From Barron's ● Jul. 20, 2026

“It’d be easier if Katherine had held the camera a little steadier,” Chip told Jonah at the bus stop the third morning.

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 Dubnow, S. M. (Simon Markovich)

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 Pearce, Ernest Harold

Some light is thrown upon these camerae by the inventories of medieval nunneries.

From Medieval English Nunneries c. 1275 to 1535 by Power, Eileen

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

From Chaucer and His Times by Hadow, Grace E.

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 Hulbert, James Root

Related Words

• camcorder