What does cameramen mean?
Cameramen are people — historically and specifically, men — whose job is to operate a camera for film, television, news, or other video production. The term is the plural of cameraman and can refer either to several individuals or to the camera department of a production as a whole, as in 'the director consulted with his cameramen before the shoot.' The work ranges from handheld news gathering in unpredictable environments to carefully choreographed studio cinematography, so the word often carries connotations of skill, physical stamina, and an eye for composition. In recent decades the industry has shifted toward gender-neutral terms such as camera operator or videographer, though cameramen remains common in everyday speech and journalism. Related forms include cameraman, camerawoman, cameraperson, and camerawork. The word derives from 'camera', ultimately from the Latin for a vaulted chamber, combined with 'man'.
nounCameramen is the plural of cameraman: men whose profession or task is operating a film or video camera, especially for television, cinema, or news production.
- Male operators of a film or television camera; collectively, the members of a camera crew.
"The cameramen positioned themselves along the red carpet to capture the arrivals."
"Two cameramen were injured when the crowd surged forward at the concert."
"The documentary employed local cameramen familiar with the terrain."
'Cameramen' is itself the standard irregular plural of cameraman (man → men); the feminine form is camerawomen, and the gender-neutral plural is camera operators or camerapersons.
"Several experienced cameramen worked the event simultaneously."
Every 'cameraman' you've ever seen on TV was named after a room — 'camera' is Latin for 'vault' or 'chamber', the same root that gives us 'chamber'.
Reviewed by Deb Chak, Editor. AI-assisted content curated by RJS Tech Solutions LLP.
Etymology of cameramen
Cameramen is simply the plural of cameraman, a compound of 'camera' and 'man' formed during the late nineteenth century with the rise of motion-picture photography. The word 'camera' comes from the Latin 'camera', meaning a vaulted room or chamber, via the phrase 'camera obscura' (dark chamber) that described early optical devices. The same Latin root gives English words such as 'chamber', 'chamberlain', and, more distantly, 'comrade'.
Related word forms
How cameramen is actually used
Because the word is gender-specific, many broadcasters and style guides now prefer gender-neutral alternatives such as 'camera operator', 'cameraperson', or 'videographer'; 'cameramen' may still be used generically for a mixed crew in informal contexts. The singular is 'cameraman'.
Easily confused with cameramen
Cameramen refers specifically to male camera operators (or the group as a whole), while camerawoman denotes a female camera operator.