What does caption mean?
Word: Caption
Part of Speech: Noun
Meaning: Caption means a short piece of text placed with a picture or cartoon, saying who or what it shows.
How do you spell caption?
Syllables: cap - tion
Tricky part: The end sounds like 'shun', and children write capshun or capsion. It is the common ending tion.
Watch out for: capshun, capsion
Memory tip: The shun sound at the end is written tion, the way English spells it most often, as in station.
Caption in a sentence
Example 1: Write a funny caption under your drawing of the elephant.
Example 2: The caption below the photo named every player in our cricket team.
Example 3: Nora read the caption to find out where the picture was taken.
Fun Fact
Caption shares its Latin root with capture. Both come from capere, which meant to take or seize.
Practise the CREST Way
Spellacadabra
Choose the misspelt word:
a) direction
b) ambition
c) capption
d) fiction
Show answer
c) capption. The word has a single p, just like the cap you wear.
Sound Check
In which word is 'ap' pronounced differently?
a) chapter
b) capture
c) caption
d) apron
Show answer
d) apron. In apron the a says its name, as in day. In the other three it is short, as in cat.
Word Puzzle
Match each word with its meaning:
1. caption 2. headline 3. footnote a. the title in large print above a news story b. a note at the bottom of a page that adds a detail c. the line printed under a sports photo, telling you what is happening
a) 1-c, 2-a, 3-b
b) 1-b, 2-c, 3-a
c) 1-a, 2-c, 3-b
d) 1-c, 2-b, 3-a
Show answer
a) 1-c, 2-a, 3-b. A headline tops the story and a footnote sits at the foot of the page.
Word Tally
How many words are misspelt in the given sentence?
The caption under the photo of our school band was printed in the wrong colur, and the name of the drummer was mispelt too.
a) 1
b) 3
c) 4
d) 2
Show answer
d) 2. Colour needs ou, and misspelt itself needs a double s.
Multiple Choice Questions
1. A newspaper prints a photo of a tiger cub at the zoo. What would its caption most likely say?
a) A tiger cub naps in the sun at the city zoo.
b) Order now and save on your newspaper.
c) Turn to page six for the weather report.
d) The editor wishes all readers a good day.
Show answer
a) A tiger cub naps in the sun at the city zoo.
2. Why do comic strips often have captions?
a) to make the paper thicker and stronger
b) to add a line that explains the scene
c) to stop the ink from smudging later
d) to show the price of the comic book
Show answer
b) to add a line that explains the scene
