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. NomelandExamples 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 Web
EW.com, 20 Mar. 2025
Several captions had the incorrect day of the week.
—Annika Merrilees, Sacramento Bee, 20 Mar. 2025
William Lambers, Newsweek, 10 Mar. 2025
Rihanna captioned the social media post, which showed the babies resting on her chest.
—Robyn Merrett, StyleCaster, 10 Mar. 2025
See All Example Sentences for caption
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Noun
Moore, 62, shared several images Wednesday night showing her family embracing on Bruce's birthday, with the star also offering a short message in the post's caption.
—EW.com, 20 Mar. 2025
Several captions had the incorrect day of the week.
—Annika Merrilees, Sacramento Bee, 20 Mar. 2025
Verb
Hailey captioned her post with the heart on fire emoji.
—William Lambers, Newsweek, 10 Mar. 2025
Rihanna captioned the social media post, which showed the babies resting on her chest.
—Robyn Merrett, StyleCaster, 10 Mar. 2025
See All Example Sentences for caption
Cite this Entry
“Caption.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/caption. Accessed 24 Mar. 2025.
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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