CAMERA Definition & Meaning

View synonyms for

camera

[ kam-er-uh, kam-ruh ]

Phonetic (Standard)IPA

noun

a device for capturing a photographic image or recording a video, using film or digital memory.
(in a television transmitting apparatus) the device in which the picture to be televised is formed before it is changed into electric impulses.

adjective

Printing. camera-ready.

camera

[ kam-er-uh ]

Phonetic (Standard)IPA

noun

plural camerae

a judge's private office.

camera

/ ˈkæmrə; ˈkæmərə /

noun

an optical device consisting of a lens system set in a light-proof construction inside which a light-sensitive film or plate can be positioned See also cine camera digital camera
television the equipment used to convert the optical image of a scene into the corresponding electrical signals
See camera obscura
-��-əˌ��ː a judge's private room
in camera
1. law relating to a hearing from which members of the public are excluded
2. in private
off camera
not within an area being filmed
on camera
(esp of an actor) being filmed

Discover More

�y��vlog History and Origins

Origin of camera¹

First recorded in 1730–40; shortening of camera obscura ( def ); 1840-45 camera ¹fordef 1; utimately from Latin camera “vaulted room, vault”; see camera ²( def )

Origin of camera²

First recorded in 1630–40; for earlier sense “vaulted room,” from Latin, from Greek �첹��á�� “vault, vaulted room”; see chamber ( def )

Discover More

�y��vlog History and Origins

Origin of camera¹

C18: from Latin: vault, from Greek kamara

Discover More

Idioms and Phrases

in camera,
1. Law. in the privacy of a judge's chambers.
2. privately.
off camera,
1. out of the range of a video camera, as a television or motion picture camera:
  The stunt woman was waiting just off camera for her cue to enter the scene.
2. (of an actor) in one’s private rather than professional life:
  The two co-stars are best friends off camera.
on camera, being filmed or televised by a live camera:
Be sure to look alert when you are on camera.

Discover More

Example Sentences

Hezbollah members, desperate, asked us to turn off our cameras or phones, as no-one knew what else could explode.

From

The police chief told AFP: "A review of his GoPro camera footage showed his entry and landing into the restricted North Sentinel Island."

From

“None of us could’ve done what we did without you. Personally speaking, y’all are the reason I feel empowered to keep a camera close by,” commented photographer Adam Davis beneath Black Image Center’s post.

From

The camera then zooms in on a massive billboard promoting “The Bondsman.”

From

Even in the New York area, the landing stations are protected by little more than a camera and sometimes a chain-link fence.

From

Related �y��vlogs

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

Browse