caption
Americannoun
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a title or explanation for a picture or illustration, as in a magazine, newspaper, or book.
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a heading or title, as of a chapter, article, or page.
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Movies, Television, Digital Technology.
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a transcription or translation of dialogue and a written description of other audio elements, as sound effects, music, or atmospheric sounds, displayed as a graphic overlay on the lower part of the screen in a television program, film, video, or video game.
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a title or annotation displayed as a graphic overlay on the screen in a television program, film, video, or video game, as to set the scene, name a location, or specify a time or date.
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Law. the heading of a legal document stating the time, place, etc., of execution or performance.
verb (used with object)
noun
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a title, brief explanation, or comment accompanying an illustration; legend
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a heading, title, or headline of a chapter, article, etc
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graphic material, usually containing lettering, used in television presentation
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another name for subtitle
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the formal heading of a legal document stating when, where, and on what authority it was taken or made
verb
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
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subcaptionnoun
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supercaptionnoun
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miscaptionverb (used with object)
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captionlessadjective
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uncaptionedadjective
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
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captionsimple
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captionssimple
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have captionedperfect
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has captionedperfect
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am captioningprogressive
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are captioningprogressive
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is captioningprogressive
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have been captioningperfect progressive
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has been captioningperfect progressive
Past
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captionedsimple
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had captionedperfect
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was captioningprogressive
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were captioningprogressive
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had been captioningperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of caption
First recorded in 1350–1400; Middle English capcio(u)n “seizure,” from Latin captiōn- (stem of captiō ), equivalent to capt(us) “taken” ( see captive) + -iōn- -ion
Explanation
A caption is a brief description accompanying an illustration. You know the online photo of your baby cousin face-planting into a cake? The description underneath it that says "Hugh's First Birthday" — that's the caption. The Latin root of caption is capito, which means "seizing" or "holding." What do captions have to do with seizing? Nothing. Centuries ago, when authorities seized someone's property for legal reasons, they presented documents that began with the phrase "certificate of caption." Eventually people began using the word to refer to the beginning of any document. Then they began using it to mean any article or chapter heading. And from chapter headings it was a short hop to picture headings. A long journey for a word whose definition includes the description "brief"!
Vocabulary lists containing caption
Jim Burke's Academic Vocabulary List
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Unit 4: Powerful Openings
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STAAR Grade 7 Reading: Informational Text
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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:
“By addressing these health markers early we’re keeping you on the leading edge of lethality,” he said in a social-media video with the caption “The High-T Department of War.”
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 15, 2026
She shared photos from their dreamy garden proposal with the caption: “Your English teacher and your gym teacher are getting married.”
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 3, 2026
Ranganathan reposted Coughlan's video to his 1.4m followers online, with the caption: "Gutted isn't the word."
From BBC ● Jul. 1, 2026
On Instagram, Gillette posted a picture of its stadium logo covered in what looks like a mound of shaving foam with the caption, “At least we got to choose how we cover it.”
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 27, 2026
The gym was turned into a giant museum, with everyone’s Egyptian artifact displayed on a table with a little caption card explaining what the thing was.
From "Wonder" by R. J. Palacio
Some videos make it onto Brovdi's social media accounts -- where he is followed by hundreds of thousands -- with cartoony music and mocking captions.
From Barron's ● Jun. 10, 2026
Follow-up songs like Ghost and Pillow became actual Instagram captions, and Wolf gained enough support to sell out her first tour in February 2022.
From BBC ● Apr. 28, 2026
Sports reporting could be generated from box scores, financial reporting from ticker data and movie reviews from captions.
From Salon ● Apr. 23, 2026
“Most viral moment,” one of the captions reads.
From Los Angeles Times ● Feb. 9, 2026
He slammed the magazine down and glared at it as I said of course I knew he was the youngest, and the magazine did the captions, not me.
From "The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks" by Rebecca Skloot
He posts selfies using the Shrek filter, captioned "selfie with my twin".
From BBC ● Jul. 11, 2026
She captioned the clip, “Do I want to RV? Yes, yes I do. I’ll bring the string lights and tea!!”
From MarketWatch ● Jul. 8, 2026
Swift and Kelce announced their engagement last August in an Instagram post captioned, "Your English teacher and your gym teacher are getting married."
From Barron's ● Jul. 4, 2026
“Thankful for each and every nurse and doctor along our journey who helped us get through and out the other end,” she captioned the video.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 2, 2026
On Tumblr, I captioned the picture: “The Khalil I know was afraid of animals.”
From "The Hate U Give" by Angie Thomas
The book’s captioning about the white organdy costume Graham designed for herself, currently displayed in the library, notes that its inspiration was the “night-blooming Cereus” flower.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 9, 2026
“For a long time, captions have been made by hearing people,” says Stern, who collaborated with d/Deaf/hard-of-hearing artist and filmmaker Alison O’Daniel, whose 2023 documentary “The Tuba Thieves” reimagined closed captioning as a descriptive playground.
From Los Angeles Times ● Dec. 4, 2025
“Such information must be provided not only through captioning but also in American Sign Language.”
From Salon ● Jul. 6, 2025
This may be an effort to mitigate the audience’s urge to divide attention between second screens or to capitalize on the mainstreaming of closed captioning in streaming content.
From Salon ● Jan. 6, 2025
I consider captioning it with #EndDay, but I don’t need fake sympathetic “oh no, R.I.P!!!!” comments or trolls telling me to “Rest in Pieces!!!!”
From "They Both Die at the End" by Adam Silvera
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.
