photo
pho·to/ˈfəʊ̯.təʊ̯/noun, verb
photo is spelled P-H-O-T-O: 5 letters and 2 syllables (pho·to). It appears 93 times per million words in written English, the 1,144th most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As a noun, photo means “A photograph” (English Wiktionary, September 2026). The plural of photo is photos.
How many letters and syllables are in photo?
| Letters | 5: P-H-O-T-O |
|---|---|
| Syllables | 2: pho·to |
| In writing | 93 times per million words; the 1,144th most frequent word form |
| Wrong spellings searched | none measured in search |
Sources: letters and syllables from the English Wiktionary's hyphenation or pronunciation; written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How common is photo?
Photo appears 93 times per million words in written English, the 1,144th most frequent word form in the list.
Source: written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How do you pronounce photo?
- UK /ˈfəʊ̯.təʊ̯/
- UK [ˈfəʊ̯.tʰəʊ̯]
- /ˈfo.to/
Photo has 2 syllables, split pho·to in writing.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Recordings: En-uk-photo.ogg, En-us-photo.ogg, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
Forms of photo
- photos plural, present, singular, he/she/it
- photoing participle, present
- photoed participle, past
- phot-
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does photo mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
noun
- 1
informalA photograph.
- 2
informalA photo finish.
- 3
informalA digital picture of any kind.
- 4
informalPhotography
verb
- 1
To take a photograph of.
[1956] 1992 ed., The Complete Lyrics of Cole Porter http://print.google.com/print?hl=en&id=5kjheskJwVAC&pg=PA465&lpg=PA465&sig=_CY8N5ZLStxnOIlf_CNHhhBEPjA What fun to be photoed together, / What luck for a break so opportune. / Oh, what a l
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Photo in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
| Language | Words |
|---|---|
| French | photographier , photo- |
| Spanish | instantánea , foto- |
| Portuguese | foto-, luci- |
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Translations are Wiktionary's, by sense; a linked word has its own PlainSpell page.
Where does photo come from?
Clipping of photograph.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).