snapshot

American  

[snap-shot] / ˈsnæpˌʃɒt /

noun

snapshots plural

1. an informal photograph, especially one taken quickly by a handheld camera.

2. Hunting. a quick shot taken without deliberate aim.

3. Informal. a brief appraisal, summary, or profile.

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verb (used with or without object)

snapshot, snapshotted, snapshotting

1. to photograph informally and quickly.

snapshot British  

/ ˈsnæpˌʃɒt /

noun

1. Often shortened to: snap.  an informal photograph taken with a simple camera

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Other Word Forms

Noun Inflected Forms

• snapshots
  plural

Etymology

Origin of snapshot

1800–10 snapshot for def. 2; 1860–65 snapshot for def. 1; snap (in the sense “done suddenly or casually”) + shot ¹

Explanation

A snapshot is a quick photograph taken for fun. Be sure to take lots of snapshots while you're on vacation! Using the word snapshot makes it clear you're not talking about professional photographs or artistic shots you've put some thought into. A snapshot just captures a brief moment in time. You can also use this word to mean "impression or summary." A person's obituary, even if deeply moving, can never be more than a snapshot of their varied, complex life. The original 17th0century meaning of snapshot was "quick shot with a gun at a fast-moving target."

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

snapshot snapshots snapshotted snapshotting

"The current results are a snapshot of a moment during infection, and it opens the door to studying flu-host interactions across the entire infection cycle."

From Science Daily ● Jul. 21, 2026

The scene, which Günes said last took place two months ago, is a snapshot not from a stern theocracy ruled by capricious clerics, but from the capital of Europe’s largest economy.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 19, 2026

In publishing the data, the agency provides a snapshot of the highest-paid employees in the state, though it does not identify workers by name.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 11, 2026

We might only be a few days into July, but two record-breaking summer heatwaves have already provided the UK and Europe with a snapshot of their new climate.

From BBC ● Jul. 4, 2026

In the only photograph I had of her, a snapshot, she squinted blurrily at the camera, one hand on the Cyclone fence and the other on my father’s new riding lawn mower.

From "The Secret History" by Donna Tartt

AFP photo editor Maximilien Lamy was on holiday with his partner and daughter last week when he took a series of snapshots of vacationers in fire-struck southwest France with his smartphone.

From Barron's ● Jul. 29, 2026

Archived snapshots of the websites for the girls' and boys' sections of the school – taken in the months before the attack - include the address of the site.

From BBC ● Jul. 23, 2026

The SSA currently does not provide the same detailed, real-time metrics as it did in the past, providing only snapshots of its performance instead of running updated tabulations of caseloads, timings and backlogs, analysts said.

From MarketWatch ● Jul. 14, 2026

Like other investors managing at least $100 million, Situational Awareness is required to file once-a-quarter snapshots, with a lag, of its portfolio of long positions in U.S. stocks and options.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 8, 2026

Richard Dailey passed around a scrapbook he kept, mementos from his own life and some childhood snapshots of Jesse and his sisters, from the days when the family was intact.

From "Geeks: How Two Lost Boys Rode the Internet Out of Idaho" by Jon Katz

The student survey indicating widespread opposition to the policy—released in February shortly after the grade proposal was publicized—was taken at an “unrepresentative moment” because it snapshotted students’ initial shock, she said.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Apr. 3, 2026

Users can choose which apps are used by the feature, and private mode on some browsers will not be snapshotted.

From BBC ● Apr. 11, 2025

“I know sometimes things can be snapshotted in a certain way in a particular cultural moment,” said Hernandez.

From Los Angeles Times ● Dec. 11, 2024

Josh Kaplan explains this weird new surveillance technology that most people are still unaware of—especially those whose cars are being snapshotted.

From Slate ● Jul. 10, 2019

But it was not before Inglewood had seen an instantaneous picture so unique that he might well have snapshotted it with his everlasting camera.

From Manalive by Chesterton, G. K. (Gilbert Keith)

The Chief of Police has just been here and left instructions that snapshotting is an invasion of private rights.

From The Tempering by Buck, Charles Neville

Related Words

• photo