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

When compared side by side, the phones are virtually identical in display, platform software, and storage capacity, with the main difference being selfie camera quality.

From Salon • May 21, 2026

He asked if we could get a selfie, and I said, “No, I’m good on that.”

From Slate • May 7, 2026

According to prosecutors, Allen spent his last minutes checking websites that covered Trump's whereabouts, arming himself, and posing for a selfie taken with a cellphone in the mirror of his room.

From Barron's • Apr. 29, 2026

After reaching the top of the monument, they took a selfie with crowds of tourists behind them as they took in the views.

From BBC • Apr. 25, 2026

A family was there now, posing for a selfie, and Owen gave them a friendly wave.

From "Two Degrees" by Alan Gratz