close-up
noun
a photograph taken at close range or with a long focal-length lens, on a relatively large scale.
close-up
American
[klohs-uhp]
/ ˈkloʊsˌʌp /
Or
closeup
noun
-
close-ups
plural
-
a photograph taken at close range or with a long focal-length lens, on a relatively large scale.
-
Also called close shot. Movies, Television. a camera shot taken at a very short distance from the subject, to permit a close and detailed view of an object or action.
-
an intimate view or presentation of anything.
adjective
-
of or resembling a close-up.
-
intimate or detailed; close-in.
close-up
British
/ ˈkləʊsˌʌp /
noun
-
a photograph or film or television shot taken at close range
-
a detailed or intimate view or examination
a close-up of modern society
verb
-
to shut entirely
-
(intr) to draw together
the ranks closed up
-
(intr) (of wounds) to heal completely
close up
Idioms
Other Word Forms
Noun Inflected Forms
Etymology
Origin of close-up
An Americanism first recorded in 1910–15; noun use of adverbial phrase close up
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:
Their live feeds will provide continuous close-up views as the Moon gradually moves across the Sun, showing the different stages of the event.
From Science Daily ● Aug. 10, 2026
"Hottest June Day ever" is the Daily Star's headline, embedding a close-up photo showing a streak of sweat trickling down the side of King Charles III's face.
From BBC ● Jun. 24, 2026
She got on her new employer’s radar through a referral, and her page was ready for its close-up when the time came.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 18, 2026
The CG animals and aliens look stiff, other than a nifty close-up of an eyeball.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 10, 2026
Suddenly, while I was watching the commercial, a close-up of a zombie’s face popped up on the screen.
From "Auggie & Me" by R. J. Palacio
Earlier, the stock had been volatile, briefly falling below its debut price on the Nasdaq before recovering to close up 1%.
From MarketWatch ● Jun. 23, 2026
“When they get into it, you have to close up everything,” said Yasmin Sánchez, 40 years old, who works at her family’s corner store.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 18, 2026
"Seeing Jadon close up, technically, he's got an awful lot of ability," said current United interim head coach Michael Carrick when he was asked about Sancho in March.
From BBC ● Jun. 10, 2026
“It’s going to kill the industry, and a lot of people are going to be hurt so bad that they have to close up shop.”
From Los Angeles Times ● May 1, 2026
My throat starts to close up, hearing him say these words.
From "The Girl on the Train" by Paula Hawkins
There are also unverified posts claiming to be close-ups of the boys' faces, raising the risk of other children being wrongly identified.
From BBC ● Jul. 22, 2026
“You have to understand camera composition, which shots are changed. Like you can’t have two close-ups back to back, you have to start with an establishing shot,” he said.
From The Wall Street Journal ● May 21, 2026
Agreed, there’s incredible power in those close-ups of people singing and sobbing along with Eilish’s songs.
From Los Angeles Times ● May 7, 2026
The light on Mag is framed like a melodramatic diva’s spotlight, and the close-ups of Delano’s electric purple lip gloss and severe makeup heighten the sequence’s sense of surrealism.
From Salon ● Apr. 5, 2026
Otherwise you live with your face squashed against a wall, everything a huge foreground, of details, close-ups, hairs, the weave of the bedsheet, the molecules of the face.
From "The Handmaid's Tale" by Margaret Atwood
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.
