What does caption mean?
A caption is a concise piece of explanatory text that accompanies an image, such as a photograph, illustration, cartoon, chart, or diagram. Its purpose is to identify what is depicted, supply context the image alone cannot convey, or credit its source. Captions are essential to photojournalism, publishing, academic papers, museums, and increasingly to digital media, where 'closed captions' also refer to on-screen subtitles that make video content accessible to deaf and hard-of-hearing viewers. In legal contexts, the word has a further specialised sense: the heading of a legal document stating its title, parties, and jurisdiction. Caption can also function as a verb, meaning to add such explanatory text to an image. The word derives ultimately from the Latin capere, 'to take' or 'to seize', the same root that gives us capture, captive, and capable — a fitting ancestry for a term describing words that seize and fix the meaning of a picture.
A short explanatory title or description printed below or alongside an illustration, photograph, or other visual element.
"Write a caption for each figure so readers know exactly what they are looking at."
On-screen text translating or transcribing spoken dialogue in film or television, especially in the phrase 'closed captions'.
"She turned on the captions because she found the actors' accents hard to follow."
(Law) The introductory heading of a legal document or court record, naming its subject, parties, and place.
"The case file's caption listed the parties, the court, and the date."
To provide (a photograph, illustration, or video) with a caption.
"Remember to caption all the images before submitting the article."
Standard plural; used when referring collectively to the texts accompanying multiple images or the subtitle track of a video.
"All the captions in the book were written by the picture editor."
The word 'caption' comes from the Latin for 'seized' or 'caught' — the same root as 'capture' and 'captive' — because a caption literally captures the meaning of a picture in words.
Reviewed by Deb Chak, Editor. AI-assisted content curated by RJS Tech Solutions LLP.
Etymology of caption
Caption entered English in the early 17th century, borrowed via French from the Latin capito, meaning 'head' or 'catching', derived from capere, 'to take or seize'. It originally referred to the catching or seizing part of a legal document — its heading — before extending by the late 18th and early 19th centuries to the headings of newspaper articles and eventually to text accompanying illustrations. It shares this Latin root with capture, captive, capable, and captor.
How caption is actually used
As a noun, 'caption' is neutral register, common in journalism, publishing, law, and media. The verb form is less frequent but standard, especially in publishing and social-media contexts ('caption your photos'). In British English the plural is 'captions'; there is no significant regional variation in sense.
Easily confused with caption
A captain is a person who commands a ship, aircraft, or team, while a caption is explanatory text accompanying an image.