mug shot: meaning, definition, pronunciation and examples
B2informal
Quick answer
What does “mug shot” mean?
A police photograph of a person's face, taken after arrest.
Audio
Pronunciation
Definition
Meaning and Definition
A police photograph of a person's face, taken after arrest.
Any unflattering or standardized frontal photograph of a face, especially one taken for identification purposes.
Dialectal Variation
British vs American Usage
Differences
Identical in meaning and usage. No significant spelling or grammatical variation.
Connotations
Universal association with crime, police, and arrest records.
Frequency
Slightly more frequent in American media due to higher visibility of police procedurals, but common in both varieties.
Grammar
How to Use “mug shot” in a Sentence
The police took his mug shot.Her mug shot was published online.They compared the mug shots.Vocabulary
Collocations
Usage
Meaning in Context
Business
Rare. Might appear in background check contexts.
Academic
Used in criminology, law, media studies.
Everyday
Common in news reports about arrests. Used humorously for bad photos.
Technical
Standard term in law enforcement and journalism.
Vocabulary
Synonyms of “mug shot”
Vocabulary
Antonyms of “mug shot”
Watch out
Common Mistakes When Using “mug shot”
- Using 'mugshot' as one word (acceptable but hyphenated form 'mug shot' is standard in many dictionaries).
- Using it for any passport photo (it retains a crime connotation).
FAQ
Frequently Asked Questions
Both 'mug shot' (open form) and 'mugshot' (closed form) are used. Dictionaries vary, but the hyphenated or open form is often presented as the primary headword.
Yes, but only humorously or ironically, implying the photo is as unflattering as a police photo. It retains its primary association with crime.
'Mug' is 19th-century slang for 'face', likely from the resemblance of a drinking mug to a grotesque face. 'Shot' comes from photography.
In many jurisdictions, like the US, they are considered public records. In others, like the UK, release is more restricted. This is a legal, not linguistic, issue.
A police photograph of a person's face, taken after arrest.
Mug shot is usually informal in register.
Mug shot: in British English it is pronounced /ˈmʌɡ ʃɒt/, and in American English it is pronounced /ˈmʌɡ ʃɑːt/. Tap the audio buttons above to hear it.
Learning
Memory Aids
Mnemonic
Think of a 'mug' as slang for face, and a 'shot' as a photograph. A mug shot is a 'face photograph' taken by police.
Conceptual Metaphor
IDENTIFICATION IS CAPTURE (the face is captured in a photo as the person is captured by law).
Practice
Quiz
In which context would the term 'mug shot' be LEAST appropriate?