: a photograph of usually a person's head and especially face
specifically: a police photograph of a suspect's face or profile
Example Sentences
Recent Examples on the WebJennings was fingerprinted, had his mug shot taken and was booked into the county jail before his wife bailed him out, according to the lawsuit. Minyvonne Burke, NBC News, 10 Sep. 2022 Adding insult to injury, Jennings says, his mug shot was posted on the website bustedtalladegacounty.com. Mary Colurso | Mcolurso@al.com, al, 10 Sep. 2022 Taken to jail in handcuffs, the pop star took this mug shot - and weighed in at a frail 120 lbs. Cara Lynn Shultz, Peoplemag, 29 Aug. 2022 Meanwhile, Branch’s mug shot, released Friday by the Metropolitan National Police Dept., showed redness under her right eye. Nardine Saad, Los Angeles Times, 15 Aug. 2022 Meanwhile, Branch’s mug shot, released Friday by the Metropolitan National Police Department, showed redness under her right eye.cleveland, 12 Aug. 2022 Still, her name and mug shot will always be out there. Molly Longman, refinery29.com, 8 July 2022 His latest culminated in an arrest last week that produced a surreal mug shot photo of the once-clean-cut TV actor. Nardine Saad, Los Angeles Times, 24 Aug. 2021 Even the famous photos of Parks being fingerprinted and her mug shot, often attributed to the 1955 bus incident, are really from her 1956 arrest for her role as one of the organizers of the boycott, notes Theoharis. Julie Hinds, Detroit Free Press, 17 June 2022 See More
Word History
First Known Use
1950, in the meaning defined above
Legal Definition
mug shot
noun
: a police photograph of a suspect's face or profile that is taken when the suspect is booked