photographs

1. 1
   noun

   Plural of photograph.

   Investigators studied the photographs for any sign of the missing key.

   Several photographs from the expedition were published in the magazine.

   Note

   A regular plural: a plain -s, sounded /s/ after the final f-sound of photograph. The same spelling also serves as the present-tense verb, so the sentence decides which you have. In "the photographs show damage" it counts pictures; in "she photographs the damage" it names an action. Because the noun covers images fixed on plate, film or digital sensor alike, the plural fits old prints and image files equally well.

2. 2
   verb

   Third-person singular simple present indicative of photograph.

   The orbiting satellite photographs the coastline twice each day.

   A staff reporter photographs every game from the sideline.

   Note

   Every use of the verb survives in this form, and the construction tells them apart. With an object it means taking the picture: the satellite photographs the coastline. Used figuratively, a mind photographs a scene, fixing it in memory. Without an object it can mean the opposite role, appearing in a picture, as when someone photographs well. In that case the subject is the person pictured, not the one holding the camera.

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