1
: the part of a legal document that shows where, when, and by what authority it was taken, found, or executed
2
a
: the heading especially of an article or document : title
b
: the explanatory comment or designation accompanying a pictorial illustration
read the caption for the names of the people in the picture
c
: a movie or television show subtitle
captioned; captioning
ˈkap-sh(ə-)niŋ 
; captions
; captions
: to furnish with a caption
… confirm that photographs are correctly captioned and pages numbered sequentially.—
Publishers Weekly
Publishers Weekly… the captions and pictures are frequently out of sync, and the live local weather and sports segments are usually not captioned.—Melvia M. and Ronald E. Nomeland
Melvia M. and Ronald E. NomelandSynonyms
Examples of caption in a Sentence
Noun
The caption on the picture says “This year's contest winners.”
for the school yearbook, funny captions were written for snapshots showing a typical day at school
Recent Examples on the WebThania Garcia, Variety, 18 May 2024
Last January, on the first anniversary of his death, the guitarist shared a photo of Saget along with some sweet memories in the post’s caption.
—Tomás Mier, Rolling Stone, 17 May 2024
See all Example Sentences for caption 
Noun
The caption also included a number for a domestic violence hotline.
—Thania Garcia, Variety, 18 May 2024
Last January, on the first anniversary of his death, the guitarist shared a photo of Saget along with some sweet memories in the post’s caption.
—Tomás Mier, Rolling Stone, 17 May 2024
See all Example Sentences for caption
These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'caption.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
Dictionary Entries Near caption
Cite this Entry
“Caption.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/caption. Accessed 20 May. 2024.
Copy CitationLegal Definition
caption
noun
cap·tion
ˈkap-shən
: the part of a legal document that states the court, the names of the parties, the docket number, the title of the document, and sometimes the name of the judge
Etymology
Noun
Medieval Latin captio act of taking, from Latin capere to take
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