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

A call had come in from a homeowner who was out of town and who had spotted the intrusion on a security camera.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 23, 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

Orton: I’ve done a lot of documentaries with people who learn hard things or process hard things on camera, and it can get sticky.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 22, 2026

Four days later, he hit a camera with his gloves as a cameraman approached him on the pitch after a 2-1 defeat by Colombia.

From BBC ● Jul. 20, 2026

I moved on when a truck pulled up alongside the camera and the crew began to load up the equipment.

From "The Red Car to Hollywood" by Jennie Liu

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

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

From William de Colchester Abbot of Westminster by Pearce, Ernest Harold

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.

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

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

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

Related Words

• camcorder