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imaging

American  
[im-uh-jing] / ˈɪm ə dʒɪŋ /

noun

  1. Psychology. a technique in which one uses mental images to control bodily processes and thus ease pain or to succeed in some endeavor that one has visualized in advance.

  2. Medicine/Medical. the use of computerized axial tomography, sonography, or other specialized techniques and instruments to obtain pictures of the interior of the body, especially those including soft tissues.


imaging Scientific  
/ ĭmĭ-jĭng /
  1. The creation of visual representations of objects, such as a body parts or celestial bodies, for the purpose of medical diagnosis or data collection, using any of a variety of usually computerized techniques. Within the field of medicine, important imaging technologies include compuertized axial tomography, magnetic resonance imaging, and ultrasonography.


Etymology

Origin of imaging

First recorded in 1660–70, for the earlier sense “imagination”; image + -ing 1

Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

Thermal imaging footage provided by Korea Wildlife Protection Association showed the wolf moving along a wooded hillside near the zoo on Wednesday, Reuters news agency reported.

From BBC • Apr. 10, 2026

None of those companies is materially involved in the launch, but that group of six represents the end-to-end space economy, including launch services, parts and satellite supply, and applications including Earth imaging and communications.

From Barron's • Apr. 10, 2026

In the new study, scientists applied synchrotron imaging, which uses extremely bright beams of light to detect hidden structures within rock.

From Science Daily • Apr. 7, 2026

The water-soluble, FDA-approved dye used by UltraGreen.ai for fluorescence imaging is considered a generic drug and falls under the current exemption, they say.

From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 7, 2026

It was what happened before—before he got into the imaging machine.

From "A Deadly Wandering: A Mystery, a Landmark Investigation, and the Astonishing Science of Attention in the Digital Age" by Matt Richtel