paparazzi

American  

[pah-puh-raht-see, pah-pah-raht-tsee] / ˌpɑ pəˈrɑt si, ˌpɑ pɑˈrɑt tsi /

plural noun

• paparazzo
  singular

1. freelance photographers, especially those who take candid pictures of celebrities for publication.

   To evade the paparazzi, the actress sent her car to the front entrance and snuck in the back on foot.

   I felt like a paparazzo as I hung around waiting to catch a glimpse of the singer.

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Etymology

Origin of paparazzi

First recorded in 1965–70; from Italian, from the surname of such a photographer in Federico Fellini's ( def. ) La dolce vita (1959), of disputed origin

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

paparazzi paparazzo

Right after I finished “Black Hawk Down,” I decided to get back to Minnesota, where I grew up … There’s no paparazzi in Minnesota.

From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 8, 2026

It marked the start of a reckoning for the British tabloid media, which was blamed for hounding her after the car in which she was a passenger was chased by paparazzi before crashing.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 24, 2026

After the hounding of Diana by the paparazzi, he says he personally rang tabloid newspaper editors to disinvite them from the Abbey funeral, after their invitations had already been sent out.

From BBC ● Sep. 21, 2026

But she was the one that the paparazzi hounded most fiercely, feeding malicious tabloid coverage focused on her body image and weight.

From Salon ● Aug. 19, 2026

The last thing they needed on this quest was paparazzi taking pictures of all Frank’s epic fails.

From "The House of Hades" by Rick Riordan

In these images Sellers—a comic giant at the height of his career—acts as an eager paparazzo chasing after the self-assured ingénue.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Feb. 13, 2026

Taylor's Swift's father will not be charged over accusations he assaulted a paparazzo in Australia.

From BBC ● Mar. 26, 2024

The veteran paparazzo said he decided to report the attack to police despite not being seriously injured.

From Seattle Times ● Feb. 26, 2024

Days later, when she was again denied entry to Federline’s home to see her sons, she snapped at a paparazzo who just wouldn’t let up.

From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 26, 2023

Courteous and exuberant — he was no annoying paparazzo — Mr. Kirkland was welcomed into stars’ homes and hotel rooms and onto movie sets.

From New York Times ● Oct. 9, 2022