What does cutline mean?
A cutline is the short block of text that accompanies a photograph or illustration in a newspaper, magazine, or online publication, usually placed directly beneath the image. Its job is practical rather than decorative: it identifies the people shown, explains what is happening, credits the photographer, and anchors the image to the surrounding story. In journalism, the term is standard American newsroom vocabulary — editors and copy desks routinely refer to writing, trimming, or correcting cutlines — while many readers know the same element simply as a caption. A well-written cutline is terse and factual, often no more than one or two sentences, yet it is among the most widely read text on any page, which is why careless cutlines are a common source of published errors and corrections. The word also carries a separate, technical meaning in forestry and surveying, where a cutline is a cleared strip of vegetation cut through woodland to mark a boundary or permit measurement. Outside these professional contexts the word is uncommon, giving it a distinctly trade flavor.
A caption accompanying a photograph or illustration in a publication, identifying or describing the image.
"The magazine's fact-checker verified every name mentioned in the cutline."
Primarily North American newsroom terminology; equivalent to 'caption' elsewhere.
A cleared strip of vegetation cut through forest or brush to mark a boundary or survey line.
"The property boundary followed a cutline visible from the ridge."
Regular plural; common in editorial discussions of multiple photo captions.
"All the cutlines for the special section were due by Friday."
In newsrooms, editors don't say 'photo caption' — they say 'cutline', a piece of print jargon that has survived from the days when captions were literally typeset on strips of cut paper.
Reviewed by Deb Chak, Editor. AI-assisted content curated by RJS Tech Solutions LLP.
Etymology of cutline
The noun 'cutline' combines 'cut' with 'line' and emerged as American journalism slang, likely in the late nineteenth or early twentieth century when photographic captions were set as separate lines of type — literally lines of 'cuts' (engraved image blocks) and their accompanying text. It belongs to the same family of compound nouns built on 'line' as 'headline', 'deadline', and 'streamline'. The forestry sense applies the same logic of a literal cut line through terrain.
How cutline is actually used
'Cutline' is chiefly American journalistic jargon; British publications more often simply say 'caption'. The forestry/surveying sense is regional and technical.
Easily confused with cutline
A headline is the large title above a story, while a cutline is the small explanatory text attached directly to a photograph.
Caption is the general term for text accompanying an image; 'cutline' is the specific journalistic term used in newspapers and magazines.