stock photo

noun

plural stock photos
: a photographic image of a generic subject (such as a person, object, or location) that is kept for later use
Prevailing wisdom among dealers is that online shoppers prefer real photos of new vehicles in inventory over stock photos from the manufacturer and others.David Barkholz
[Suzanne] Rodriguez has more than a decade of experience in digital advertising and professional photography. Stock photos often can be found on the websites of small businesses, but custom photos provide a more accurate characterization of the firm, she said.Kevin Oklobzija
When the National Enquirer needed a close-up photo of a snail for one of its … stories, it didn't send a phalanx of photographers out into the garden with cameras in hand. Instead, it called on a small stock photo service in Chatham that specializes in pictures of animals and nature …Michael Farrell

Examples of stock photo in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web
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In March, OpenAI debuted its latest image-generation tool, the inspiration for the potential social media project, as a way to produce everything from diagrams, infographics and logos to business cards and stock photos. Hayden Field,kate Rooney, CNBC, 15 Apr. 2025 Soon, advertising billboards begin to appear over the fertile red soil, offering sleek two- and three-bedroom apartments in glossy complexes that look like stock photos of an American suburb. Erika Page, Christian Science Monitor, 11 Apr. 2025 If a clinic avoids producing genuine before-and-after pictures or only gives very heavily retouched, generic stock photos, take that as a red flag. Rowan Briggs, The Mercury News, 19 Mar. 2025 Transform your banner into a conversion tool Your banner displays prominently at the top of your profile, yet most people waste it on stock photos or leave the default blue background. Jodie Cook, Forbes, 11 Mar. 2025 See All Example Sentences for stock photo

Word History

First Known Use

1912, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of stock photo was in 1912

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Cite this Entry

“Stock photo.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/stock%20photo. Accessed 24 Apr. 2025.

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