noun / verb
caption
KAP-shuhn/ˈkæpʃn/
Brief text describing or explaining an image or video.
The caption beneath the bird picture identifies the robin.
Etymology
Originally 'a taking or seizure,' caption appeared in headings of legal documents concerning seizure and related proceedings. Its meaning broadened to a document heading, then to the title or explanation accompanying an illustration.
In context
and understand the meaning of a figure it's well conceived and executed well you would like the figure to be something you can understand even without a caption
More examples
- She captioned the video so viewers could read the dialogue.
- A short caption explained where the picture was taken.
- The editor corrected the misleading caption beneath the image.
Forms
caption · captions · captioned · captioning
Similar words
- legend
- A legend can explain symbols in a diagram; a caption usually describes a particular image.
- subtitle
- A subtitle commonly transcribes or translates speech on screen; a caption can identify or explain visual content.