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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 )

Explanation

Snap a picture with your camera and you get a photo, a recorded image made using light. To get a passport, driver's license, or school I.D., you need to have your photo taken. The word photo is short for photograph, a word whose Greek roots mean "written in light." It only took about 20 years after the invention of photographs for people to start using the colloquial (and quicker) photo. If you haven't visited a photo booth with your best friend, you really should; you'll leave with a strip of wonderfully silly photos of the two of you.

Keep Reading on Vocabulary.com

Vocabulary lists containing photo

Florida's B.E.S.T. Roots: photo

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Words to Know and Academic Words, Unit 3

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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.

The director was reportedly set on posting a photo of himself and agents on social media, even though some of the British agents who were photographed work undercover.

From Salon • Apr. 24, 2026

The photo was taken by photographer Matt Porteous earlier this month.

From BBC • Apr. 23, 2026

The winning photo, "Separated by ICE", is a "powerful example of why independent photojournalism matters," according to Joumana El Zein Khoury, executive director of World Press Photo.

From Barron's • Apr. 23, 2026

Not even in a photo album or yearbook.

From Slate • Apr. 23, 2026

I hold the photo out to show her.

From "Code Name Kingfisher" by Liz Kessler

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.