Words / B1

KAPSHUN/ˈkæpʃn/

A caption is the text under a picture, graph, or cartoon: a photo caption; read the caption. Title is for the whole work; label is often a one-word tag. In IELTS-style tasks, the caption tells you what the axes mean. Do not ignore the caption and invent the topic. Subtitle is usually under a heading, not under a figure.

Meaning

A short piece of text that explains a picture, graph, or cartoon.

Examples

• “Read the caption under the graph before you describe the trend.”
• “Read the caption before you describe the trend in the graph.”
• “The cartoon’s caption was sharper than the drawing itself.”

Good to know

a caption under a photo/graph. Whole work: title. One-word tag: label. Exam tip: the caption defines the data.

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