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closed captioning

  • a word derived from closed caption.
    closed caption
    noun
    a transcription or translation of dialogue, together with a written description of other audio elements, as sound effects, music, or atmospheric sounds, time-synchronized with a television program, film, or video, and displayed as a text overlay, usually on the lower part of the screen: closed captions can be enabled or disabled and are visible only when turned on: CC
  • a word derived from closed-captioned.
    closed-captioned
    adjective
    (of a television program, film, or video) distributed with synchronized transcription or translation of speech and written descriptions of other relevant audio elements, as for the hard of hearing, that are visible only when the option to display them is selected. CC
closed-captioning
  • a word derived from closed caption.
    closed caption
    noun
    a transcription or translation of dialogue, together with a written description of other audio elements, as sound effects, music, or atmospheric sounds, time-synchronized with a television program, film, or video, and displayed as a text overlay, usually on the lower part of the screen: closed captions can be enabled or disabled and are visible only when turned on: CC

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:

These touches of unexpected texture in the special balance the years Novak spent carefully honing the show, deliberating over every decision, including diligently editing the closed captioning text.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jan. 24, 2024

You may want to turn on the closed captioning to read the lyrics in English.

From Textbooks ● Apr. 19, 2023

A different type of captioning appears on TV screens and streaming services: closed captioning, which means you can turn them on or off.

From Salon ● Jan. 24, 2023

The stroke’s effects were clear as he used closed captioning to help him process the words he heard, leading to some awkward pauses in their first and only debate.

From Seattle Times ● Nov. 8, 2022

I wait until my parents are in the den watching Saturday morning news—which is totally boring and has the worst closed captioning, by the way—and I snatch one of the bowls in a big hurry.

From "Hello, Universe" by Erin Entrada Kelly

The creativity underscores Matlin’s advocacy before Congress, whose passage of the 1990 Television Decoder Circuitry Act mandated closed-captioning technology for televisions sold in the United States.

From Los Angeles Times ● Dec. 4, 2025

NBC News aired an interview with the then-candidate last month where Mr. Fetterman was provided with a closed-captioning device that would translate the reporter’s questions into text so he could better understand them.

From Washington Times ● Nov. 16, 2022

The lieutenant governor uses closed-captioning to quickly interpret and respond to questions, and sometimes stumbles over words.

From Seattle Times ● Oct. 19, 2022

You have to use a special closed-captioning device to watch subtitling in a theater, and it’s a headache, because most of the time the devices don’t work.

From New York Times ● Sep. 15, 2021

Prescott, the 15-year-old in Loudoun, tried using Google Meet’s closed-captioning service once, but lagging video meant the dialogue rendered as “AAAAAAAA.”

From Washington Post ● Apr. 6, 2021

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