Meaning & use
closed captions
Last updated
Meanings
nounplural
Words shown on a screen that repeat the spoken parts of a video and also describe important sounds.
Grammar: Used as a plural noun: the closed captions are on. A single line can be called a closed caption.
Patterns
- turn on closed captions
- turn off closed captions
- closed captions for something
- with closed captions
Please turn on the closed captions so I can follow the dialogue.
The streaming service offers closed captions in several languages.
She watched the lecture with closed captions because the speaker had a strong accent.
nounpluraltechnical
A text display system that can be switched on or off by the viewer, often used for people who cannot hear well.
Grammar: Often used after 'use' or 'enable': use closed captions if you need them.
Patterns
- enable closed captions
- use closed captions
- closed captions feature
The television has a closed captions feature hidden in the settings menu.
Many public videos now include closed captions by law.
He enabled closed captions to read the lyrics during the concert video.
Word forms
| singular | closed caption |
|---|
Common combinations
- turn on closed captions
- Tap the screen to turn on closed captions.
- turn off closed captions
- I turned off closed captions because they covered the picture.
- closed captions in English
- The film has closed captions in English and Spanish.
- with closed captions
- Watch the interview with closed captions if the audio is unclear.
- closed captions option
- Look for the closed captions option in the video player.
Synonyms and how they differ
- subtitles
- Subtitles usually translate dialogue into another language, while closed captions also describe sounds and are in the same language as the audio.
- captions
- Captions can mean any text on screen, but closed captions specifically can be turned on and off and include sound information.
Word family
Commonly confused: closed captions or subtitles?
closed captions vs subtitles
Subtitles translate speech into another language; closed captions are in the same language and also note sounds like music or knocking.
Practice
Which sentence uses 'closed captions' correctly?
Choose one answer.
The plural 'closed captions' is the usual form for the feature, and 'to read' correctly expresses purpose. Option 1 uses the rare singular, option 2 has a wrong preposition pattern, and option 3 uses 'to reading' incorrectly.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “closed captions”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.