caption
n. countablen. a short piece of text under a picture or video that explains what is happening. You see these in newspapers, on social media, or at the bottom of a TV screen.
n. a brief title or explanatory text accompanying an illustration, photograph, or video. In digital media, it often provides context or a transcript of spoken dialogue.
The photo caption explains who is in the picture.
She spent ten minutes thinking of a funny caption for her latest vacation photo.
While the image itself was striking, the ironic caption provided the necessary subtext to understand the artist's critique of modern consumer culture.
Borrowed from Latin captiō (“deception, fraud”), from the past participle of capiō (“I take, I seize”) (English capture). Compare Middle English capcioun (“seizure, capture”).
Often used in the plural ('captions') when referring to subtitles for the hearing impaired.