snapshot

American  

[snap-shot] / ˈsnæpˌʃɒt /

noun

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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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

Example Sentences

If the paintings act as snapshots of dreamscapes, “Sleepers,” the video installation she debuted in 2024, sets those images in motion.

From Los Angeles Times

By studying the V1298 Tau system, the researchers captured an unusually early snapshot of planetary development.

From Science Daily

He described Everyone to Kenmure Street as a "snapshot of a day, of a neighbourhood, and of gestures repeated through time, for the right to have a voice and to live in peace".

From BBC

“It also explains why guidance dominates the first move. In an AI cycle, the profit line is the snapshot. The capital plan is the plot.”

From Barron's

The analysis provides a snapshot of where the field stands today.

From Science Daily

Related Words

• photo