selfie

American  

[sel-fee] / ˈsɛl fi /

noun

Informal.

1. a photograph taken with a smartphone or other digital camera by a person who is also in the photograph, especially for posting on a social media website.

   celebrities sharing selfies on Twitter.

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Etymology

Origin of selfie

First recorded in 2000–05; self + -ie

Explanation

If you flip your cellphone around to take a photo of yourself, you'll end up with a selfie. When you visit Paris, don't forget to take a selfie at night with the Eiffel Tower in the background! Selfie is a true 21st-century word, coined around 2002 in Australia. This type of slang word formation — known as a hypocorism, or nickname — is incredibly popular in that country, where a mosquito is a mozzie and a present is a prezzie. By 2013, using cellphones to snap casual self-portraits was so common that the Oxford English Dictionary named selfie its word of the year.

Example Sentences

Eunice Lim, a Sydney-based influencer originally from Singapore, is grabbing a selfie with Sunga while balancing her haul of desserts, piled high in a pizza box.

From BBC • Mar. 28, 2026

The photo, a mirror selfie, shows Jepsen all smiles in a leopard-print bucket hat, white shirt and black shorts as she cradles her child, who wears a green-striped onesie.

From Los Angeles Times • Mar. 18, 2026

The technology to verify a patient’s identity—with a selfie and a photo of an ID—will assist, he said, when “you may have records with 10 or more doctors and institutions.”

From Barron's • Mar. 17, 2026

Bild also reported that Kazmaier and Baumann refused to be involved in the medallists' selfie that takes place after every medal ceremony.

From BBC • Mar. 11, 2026

I peek at my face in the little selfie box on my screen, and wow.

From "What If It's Us" by Becky Albertalli and Adam Silvera