snapshot

S1N1A1P3S1H4O1T1
/ˈsnæpʃɒt/

noun

A photograph, especially one taken quickly or in a sudden moment of opportunity.

“He carried a snapshot of his daughter.”

Similar
snapshot
CommonScrabble 13
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Meanings

snapshot1

nounsnapshot (plural snapshots)

plural snapshots

  1. A photograph, especially one taken quickly or in a sudden moment of opportunity.

    He carried a snapshot of his daughter.

  2. A glimpse of something; a portrayal of something at a moment in time.

    The article offered a snapshot of life in that region.

    1 more example

    I hope you've enjoyed reading this series. As usual, it's just a snapshot because there's so much to say but only so many words can make it into print.

    2020 December 2, Paul Bigland, “My weirdest and wackiest Rover yet”, in Rail, page 70
  3. computingA file or set of files captured at a particular time, often capable of being reloaded to restore the earlier state.

    This game is so hard that I find myself taking a snapshot every few seconds in case I get killed.

  4. ball gamesA quick, unplanned or unexpected shot.

    Yet Revell misjudged his promising position in the area to put his point-blank snapshot wide from only six yards out.

    2011 March 2, Chris Whyatt, “Arsenal 5 - 0 Leyton Orient”, in BBC
  5. engineeringA quick offhand shot, made without deliberately taking aim over the sights.

    How quick the eye and hand to catch him [the ruffed grouse] when he rises from the underbrush and is out of sight in the wood before the untrained sportsman stops him with what is little more than a snapshot, so instantaneously must all be done!

    1892, Stanley Waterloo, A Man and a Woman
verbsnapshot (third-person singular simple present snapshots, present participle snapshotting, simple past and past participle snapshotted)

present singular third person snapshots · participle present snapshotting · participle past snapshotted · past snapshotted

  1. transitiveTo take a photograph of.

    As he did not appear disposed to move off, I took my camera and approached within about thirty yards, when I snapshotted him.

    1904, David T Hanbury, Sport and Travel in the Northland of Canada
  2. transitivecomputingTo capture the state of, in a snapshot.

    Filer appliances also offer programmatic snapshotting and cloning at the block-level or file system-level.

    2007, David E. Irwin, An Operating System Architecture for Networked Server Infrastructure, page 30

snapshot2

verb
  1. participlepastsimple past and past participle of snapshoot

Synonyms & antonyms

nounan informal photograph; usually made with a small hand-held camera

Similar
snapshot
Broader
photographphotoexposure
Also see
shotsnap

Synonym sets from Open English WordNet, CC BY 4.0.

Origin

From snap + shot.

Full word history & related roots →

Translations

Bulgarian моментална снимка
  • моментална снимка (momentalna snimka)A photograph
Catalan instantània, captura
  • instantàniaA photograph
  • capturaA glimpse of something
  • capturarto take a snapshot of
Dutch kiek, momentopname
  • kiekA photograph
  • momentopnameA glimpse of something
Esperanto kapti
  • kaptito take a snapshot of
Estonian foto, kaader
  • fotoA photograph
  • kaaderA photograph
  • stoppkaaderA photograph
  • ülesvõteA photograph
  • hetkepiltA glimpse of something
  • ülesvõteA glimpse of something
Finnish valokuva, tilannekatsaus
  • valokuvaA photograph
  • tilannekatsausA glimpse of something
French instantané
  • instantanéA photograph
German Schnappschuss, Momentaufnahme
  • SchnappschussA photograph
  • MomentaufnahmeA glimpse of something
  • einen Schnappschuss machen vonto take a snapshot of
Greek στιγμιότυπο, στιγμιότυπο
  • στιγμιότυπο (stigmiótypo)A photograph
  • στιγμιότυπο (stigmiótypo)(Computing) Files captured at a particular time that are capable of being reloaded to restore the earlier state
Hungarian pillanatfelvétel, pillanatfelvétel
  • pillanatfelvételA photograph
  • pillanatfelvételA glimpse of something
Japanese スナップショット, スナップショット
  • スナップショット (sunappushotto)A photograph
  • スナップショット (sunappushotto)(Computing) Files captured at a particular time that are capable of being reloaded to restore the earlier state
Korean 스냅샷, 스냅샷
  • 스냅샷 (seunaepsyat)A photograph
  • 스냅샷 (seunaepsyat)(Computing) Files captured at a particular time that are capable of being reloaded to restore the earlier state
Māori hopuāhua
  • hopuāhua(Computing) Files captured at a particular time that are capable of being reloaded to restore the earlier state
Persian یادیک
  • یادیک(Computing) Files captured at a particular time that are capable of being reloaded to restore the earlier state
Polish fotka, migawka
  • fotkaA photograph
  • migawkaA glimpse of something
  • snapshot(Computing) Files captured at a particular time that are capable of being reloaded to restore the earlier state
  • robić snapshotato take a snapshot of
  • zrobić snapshotato take a snapshot of
Portuguese vislumbre
  • vislumbreA glimpse of something
Russian сни́мок, кадр
  • сни́мок (snímok)A photograph
  • кадр (kadr)A photograph
  • стоп-ка́др (stop-kádr)A photograph
  • де́лать сни́мокto take a snapshot of
  • бы́стро состоя́ниеto take a snapshot of
Spanish instantánea
  • instantáneaA photograph
Swedish ögonblicksbild, ögonblicksbild
  • ögonblicksbildA photograph
  • ögonblicksbildA glimpse of something
Turkish enstantane
  • enstantaneA photograph
Cite this entry
APA

snapshot. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 2, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/snapshot

MLA

“snapshot.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/snapshot. Accessed November 2, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “snapshot,” accessed November 2, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/snapshot.

Source: snapshot on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.