photograph

photograph — noun

1. a still image made with a camera, kept on paper or on a screen.

1.nounA2
Definition

a still image made with a camera, kept on paper or on a screen.

Example

Emma framed the wedding photograph above the piano in the living room.

collocation: wedding photograph

A black-and-white photograph of the harbor hung in Grandpa Chen's shop.

pattern: a photograph of [place]

Common collocations
  • family photograph
  • wedding photograph
  • old photograph
  • a photograph of
  • show someone a photograph
Synonyms
  • photo

    short everyday form of 'photograph'

  • picture

    broader word that can also mean a drawing or painting

  • snapshot

    an informal or quickly taken photograph

  • image

    more general and often used for digital or technical contexts

Grammar Patterns

a photograph of somebody/something

show somebody a photograph

Usage Note

Often replaced by the shorter word 'photo' in everyday speech. 'Photograph' sounds slightly more formal and is common in writing, captions, and careful description.

Common Mistakes

I drew a photograph of our house.
I drew a picture of our house.
a photograph is made with a camera, not by drawing.

photograph — verb

Word family

Synonym discussion

Sense: noun/1

'Photograph' is the full word for an image made with a camera, and it often sounds a little more careful or formal than everyday alternatives. 'Photo' means the same thing, but it is the shorter form people usually choose in normal conversation: 'Can you send me the photo?' 'Picture' is wider, because it can mean a photograph, a drawing, or a painting, so it is less exact when the camera matters. 'Snapshot' suggests a quick, informal photograph rather than a planned one. Use 'photograph' when you want to be precise, especially in writing, captions, or descriptions such as 'an old family photograph'. Use 'snapshot' for casual holiday images and 'picture' when the type of image is unimportant.

photograph ↗photo ↗picture ↗snapshot ↗

Common collocations

Nouns

  • family photograph
  • wedding photograph
  • school photograph
  • press photograph

Adverbs

  • photograph well
  • photograph badly
  • photograph beautifully

Phrases

  • take a photograph
  • pose for a photograph
  • photograph somebody doing something
  • appear in a photograph

Prepositions

  • photograph of
  • photograph by
  • photograph from

Etymology

GreekFrenchEnglish

Built in the 1800s from parts that came from Greek. The first part, 'photo-', comes from a Greek word meaning 'light', and the second part comes from a Greek verb meaning 'write' or 'draw'. The word reached English through French at the time when the new process of making pictures with light was being developed. So the basic idea behind 'photograph' is 'a picture written by light'.