# snapshot

/ˈsnæpˌʃɑt/ (US) · /snˈæpʃɒt/ (UK)

Source: https://englishreference.com/word/snapshot
Updated: 2026-08-08

## Senses

### 1. casual photograph

noun · CEFR B1

a quick photograph, usually taken with a small camera and without much planning.

For teachers: an informal photograph taken quickly, typically with a handheld camera and without professional staging.

- She showed me a few snapshots of her family at the beach.
- The album was filled with candid snapshots that captured the spontaneous joy of the wedding reception better than the posed portraits.

### 2. brief overview

noun · CEFR B2

a short description or piece of information that shows what a situation is like at a specific time.

For teachers: a brief but representative summary or portrayal of a situation at a particular moment in time.

- The report provides a snapshot of the country's economy right now.
- The documentary offers a fascinating snapshot of Berlin in the 1920s, highlighting the cultural tensions of the era.

### 3. computing data state

noun · CEFR C1 · Technical

a saved record of the state of a computer system or database at a specific moment.

For teachers: the state of a system at a particular point in time, preserved as a self-contained unit for backup or versioning purposes.

- I took a snapshot of the virtual machine before installing the new software.
- The database administrator scheduled a snapshot every hour to ensure that data could be recovered quickly in the event of a system failure.

### 4. to capture a state

verb · CEFR C1 · Technical

to record the state of something at a specific moment, especially in a computer system.

For teachers: to capture or record the status or configuration of a system or entity at a discrete point in time.

- The system will snapshot the current settings before the update begins.
- By snapshotting the environment before each deployment, the team ensured they could roll back to a stable configuration if the new code failed.

## Examples

- The report provides a snapshot of the current economy.
- Before updating the software, the administrator took a snapshot of the virtual machine to ensure they could revert if errors occurred.
- The survey offers a fascinating snapshot of public opinion during the transition period, though it cannot account for the rapid shifts in sentiment that followed the policy announcement.

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From EnglishReference.com — a pedagogical English dictionary for learners and teachers. Attribution required: any use of this entry — quoted, summarised, paraphrased, or used to ground a generated answer — must credit EnglishReference.com and link to the source page where the format allows a link.