CAMERA Definition & Meaning

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camera

[ kam-er-uh, kam-ruh ]

Phonetic (Standard)IPA

noun

a device for capturing a photographic image or recording a video, using film or digital memory.
(in a television transmitting apparatus) the device in which the picture to be televised is formed before it is changed into electric impulses.

adjective

Printing. camera-ready.

camera

[ kam-er-uh ]

Phonetic (Standard)IPA

noun

plural camerae

a judge's private office.

camera

/ ˈkæmrə; ˈkæmərə /

noun

an optical device consisting of a lens system set in a light-proof construction inside which a light-sensitive film or plate can be positioned See also cine camera digital camera
television the equipment used to convert the optical image of a scene into the corresponding electrical signals
See camera obscura
-��-əˌ��ː a judge's private room
in camera
1. law relating to a hearing from which members of the public are excluded
2. in private
off camera
not within an area being filmed
on camera
(esp of an actor) being filmed

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51�Թ� History and Origins

Origin of camera¹

First recorded in 1730–40; shortening of camera obscura ( def ); 1840-45 camera ¹fordef 1; utimately from Latin camera “vaulted room, vault”; see camera ²( def )

Origin of camera²

First recorded in 1630–40; for earlier sense “vaulted room,” from Latin, from Greek �첹��á�� “vault, vaulted room”; see chamber ( def )

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51�Թ� History and Origins

Origin of camera¹

C18: from Latin: vault, from Greek kamara

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Idioms and Phrases

in camera,
1. Law. in the privacy of a judge's chambers.
2. privately.
off camera,
1. out of the range of a video camera, as a television or motion picture camera:
  The stunt woman was waiting just off camera for her cue to enter the scene.
2. (of an actor) in one’s private rather than professional life:
  The two co-stars are best friends off camera.
on camera, being filmed or televised by a live camera:
Be sure to look alert when you are on camera.

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Example Sentences

Examples have not been reviewed.

He defended those actions and said he will continue to stand up for what he believes is "right" by challenging those trying to goad him into a reaction on camera.

From

Sherman shared alarming video from his residential security cameras of his home being burglarized at gunpoint by three men shortly after midnight March 30 — which happened to be the three-time All-Pro’s 37th birthday.

From

Bodyworn camera footage showed her listening to the arresting officer, wide-eyed but quiet and compliant.

From

At each location, a vintage sign flickers, inviting guests to step into a throwback American scene or capture it with a camera.

From

Her behavior on camera was "provocative and, like, lusty," she admitted, but she said she was "not drunk, not high, not on anything" when it was filmed.

From

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Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

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