metadata
What is the opposite of metadata? Here is what we hold, with its meaning and related words.
Noun — Information that describes other data, such as the date a photo was taken, the author and word count of a document, or the title and duration of a track.
How to use metadata
The word patterns that sound natural to a native speaker.
strip the metadata
metadata fields
EXIF metadata
call metadata
Technical but now widely understood; treated as a mass noun taking a singular verb in most modern writing.
Etymology
From Greek meta 'beyond, about' plus data, the plural of Latin datum 'something given'.
Full origin of metadata →Frequently asked questions
What is metadata in simple terms?
It is data about data. A song file holds the music; its metadata holds the artist, album, year and length.
What is the difference between data and metadata?
Data is the content itself, such as the text of an email or the pixels of a photo. Metadata is the surrounding description: sender, timestamp, file size, camera model. Metadata alone can still be very revealing.
How do I remove metadata from a photo?
Most phones and operating systems offer an option to strip location and other details when sharing, and image editors can save a copy without EXIF data. Uploading to some social platforms also removes it, but do not rely on that.
