selfie

American  

[sel-fee] / ˈsɛl fi /

noun

Informal.

• selfies
  plural

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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Other Word Forms

Noun Inflected Forms

• selfies
  plural

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

See Examples For:

selfie selfies

The Instagram post was filled with love for the comic icon, a regular guy eager to take a selfie with a fan.

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 12, 2026

The hero worship was taken too far when first one fan, then another, then another raced on to the pitch to get a selfie.

From BBC ● Aug. 12, 2026

Just last week, the actress shared a mirror selfie in which she could be seen showing off her growing baby bump, pulling up her black shirt to flaunt her stomach, while grimacing at the camera.

From MarketWatch ● Aug. 11, 2026

That September, Angela Merkel resolved to welcome them in Germany and took a viral selfie with a teenage Syrian.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 7, 2026

They all want me to sign something or pose for a selfie.

From "On the Come Up" by Angie Thomas

Auqib smiled and replied: "One day I will reach a place where they will want to take selfies with me."

From BBC ● Aug. 9, 2026

Outside in the streets, the cosplayers enjoyed mugging for the cameras or taking selfies and laughing at themselves and others while interacting with their favorite celebrities.

From Salon ● Jul. 31, 2026

The company says its "companion-centric" device can interpret human gestures and bop to musical rhythms, as well as take selfies and steady videos.

From Barron's ● Jul. 19, 2026

Santa Monica resident Rojia Shahsavani said she witnessed three boys taking selfies and sitting on the open window ledges of a white Waymo that traveled from Santa Monica into West L.A. last Friday.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 7, 2026

It must have been a series of automatic selfies.

From "Boy 2.0" by Tracey Baptiste