photograph
noun · verb
Simple meaning
A picture created by projecting an image onto a photosensitive surface such as a chemically treated plate or film, CCD receptor.
Pronunciation
Say it like this:
fohtuhgrafSay the bold part a little louder.
IPA pronunciation (US)
ˈfoʊtəɡɹæf
This word is pronounced essentially the same in American and British English, so one transcription covers both.
IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) is a standard way of writing speech sounds.
Definition
Everyday modern meanings first, grouped by part of speech.
noun
photography
A picture created by projecting an image onto a photosensitive surface such as a chemically treated plate or film, CCD receptor, etc.
verb
transitivefigurative
To fix permanently in the memory etc.
transitiveintransitive
To take a photograph (of).
intransitive
To appear in a photograph.
Word at a Glance
- Difficulty
- A2 · Elementary (estimated)
- Frequency
- Common
- Typical Use
- General English
Word Aura™
How this word commonly comes across.
Aura for this meaning
This meaning: (photography) A picture created by projecting an image onto a photosensitive surface such as a chemically treated plate or film, CCD receptor, etc.
Used this way, photograph is a reasonably familiar word that usually carries little praise or criticism of its own. It usually sounds natural in a wide range of settings.
- Emotional tone
- Neutral
- Formality
- Neutral
- Intensity
- Not strongly marked
- How common
- Moderately common
- Connotation
- Matter-of-fact
- Usage feel
- Neutral and straightforward
Word Aura describes common impressions, not a measurement. Tone changes with sentence, speaker, relationship and situation.
More ways to use photograph
- “I photographed the scene of the accident.”verb
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Common Patterns and Combinations
How this word naturally appears with others.
Similar Words, What’s the Difference?
Close in meaning, but not always interchangeable.
Word Family
Related forms, grouped by how they connect.
Inflected forms
Grammatical variations of the same word.
Someone who takes photographs professionally.
Word family
Words built from the same root.
The act of taking and printing photographs.
Related to the act of taking and printing photographs.
Compound terms
Established multiword terms.
An album for photographs.
A photographer who works for a newspaper.
Two photographs taken from slightly different angles that appear three-dimensional when viewed together.
An exisitng photograph licensed for a specific use.
A radiogram made by exposing photographic film to X rays.
Related words
Connected by subject or meaning, not by word formation.
Light-sensitive paper on which photograph can be printed.
Light-sensitive paper on which photograph can be printed.
Equipment for taking photographs (usually consisting of a lightproof box with a lens at one end and light-sensitive film at the other).
Related Words
Connected to the same idea, not synonyms.
More about this wordSynonyms, forms, origin
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Dictionary data from Wiktionary via the Free Dictionary API. Simple meanings, combinations and word intelligence are built from verified reference data, no AI is used to load this page.