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mug shot

or mug·shot

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noun Slang.
  1. Also called headshot. an identifying photograph of a suspect or criminal, often one of a set showing a frontal view, a profile view, and a view of the back of the head.
  2. any closeup photograph of someone's face.
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Origin of mug shot

First recorded in 1945–50
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018

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British Dictionary definitions for mugshot

mug shot

noun
  1. informal a photograph of a person's face, esp one resembling a police-file picture
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Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Word Origin and History for mugshot

n.

also mug shot, 1950; see mug (n.2) + shot (n.) in the photographic sense.

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Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper