darkroom

American  

[dahrk-room, -room] / ˈdɑrkˌrum, -ˌrʊm /

noun

Photography.

1. a room in which film or the like is made, handled, or developed and from which the actinic rays of light are excluded.

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darkroom British  

/ ˈdɑːkˌruːm, -ˌrʊm /

noun

1. a room in which photographs are processed in darkness or safe light

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Etymology

Origin of darkroom

First recorded in 1835–45; dark + room

Explanation

A darkroom is the room a film photographer uses to develop photographs. A typical darkroom is equipped with developing chemicals, an enlarger, and a red-tinted safelight that doesn't expose black-and-white film. There are so many options for photography these days that using a darkroom is less and less common — digital and Polaroid-style, instant photos don't require developing. Most darkrooms are kept by photographers who work with black-and-white film. In the darkroom, the enlarger projects an image from a negative onto photographic paper, which is then immersed in a developer chemical wash and a fixer wash, and hung to dry. This results in a finished product, a photograph.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

darkroom

Ms. Ditner has a wall text explaining how Smith worked in his darkroom “so that his final print reflected not what the negative recorded but what he had witnessed.”

From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 10, 2026

He particularly appreciated his crewmate McDiarmid, who liked to play her saxophone in the ship’s theater, right next to his darkroom.

From Slate ● Jul. 22, 2025

With a mobile darkroom in her car’s trunk, she can develop the plates on-site, allowing subjects to see their ethereal black-and-white image within minutes.

From Los Angeles Times ● Apr. 30, 2025

Chemical Unbalance uses the chemistry of the darkroom and the menopausal body as a way of exploring the changes occurring, without and within.

From BBC ● Jun. 19, 2024

“The darkroom is not a place to hang out and chitchat!” came Ms. Bethune’s exasperated voice from outside.

From "Shooting Kabul" by N. H. Senzai