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

However, the website’s about us page shares zero names and uses an impossibly good-looking set of very young analysts that a reverse image search reveals is almost guaranteed to be a stock photo. —John Koetsier, Forbes, 2 Nov. 2024

The intrigue: Though the judge is aware of the chatroom and the court posts stock photos of lunches and juries to signal breaks and recesses, McBurney doesn't play to the crowd or engage in banter. —Thomas Wheatley, Axios, 10 Oct. 2024

Digital products can range from e-books, online courses, stock photos, software, or even printables. —Melissa Houston, Forbes, 5 Oct. 2024

That means getting a personal look at the hotels and destinations available to book, instead of encountering the same stock photos. —Caitlin White, Variety, 23 Sep. 2024

Word History

First Known Use

1912, in the meaning defined above