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Synonyms

photo

1 American  
[foh-toh] / ˈfoʊ toʊ /

noun

plural

photos

  1. photograph.

  2. Informal. photo finish.

photo- 2 American  

  1. a combining form meaning “light” (photobiology ); also used to represent “photographic” or “photograph” in the formation of compound words.

    photocopy.
photo 1 British  
/ ˈfəʊtəʊ /

noun

  1. short for photograph

"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
photo- 2 British  

combining form

  1. of, relating to, or produced by light

    photosynthesis

  2. indicating a photographic process

    photolithography
"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
photo– Scientific  

  1. A prefix that means “light,” as in photoreceptor.

Etymology

Origin of photo1

First recorded in 1855–60; shortened form of photograph

Origin of photo-2

< Greek, combining form of phôs (genitive phōtós )

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.

If somebody sent me a photo of one of my old buildings, I couldn’t look.

From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 10, 2026

This gorgeous photo of Earth that astronauts on the Artemis II mission got as they went around the moon will put most folks’ souvenir snapshots to shame.

From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 10, 2026

He also has posted a glut of social media sizzles of book-inspired photo shoots.

From Los Angeles Times • Apr. 8, 2026

But this photo is not AI - it's real.

From BBC • Apr. 8, 2026

It made a satisfying thunk and the photo with the young Dr. Achebe enlarged.

From "Boy 2.0" by Tracey Baptiste

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.