megapixel

American

[meg-uh-pik-suhl, -sel] / ˈmɛg əˌpɪk səl, -sɛl /

noun

Computers, Television.

a unit equal to one million pixels, used to measure the resolution of a digital image.

My camera has a resolution of 12 megapixels.

megapixel British

/ ˈmɛɡəˌpɪksəl /

noun

computing one million pixels: a term used to describe the degree of resolution supplied by digital cameras, scanners, etc

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Etymology

Origin of megapixel

First recorded in 1980–85; mega- + pixel

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.

See Examples For:

megapixel

It cuts the resolution of photos larger than 16 megapixel and videos larger than 1080p, and does some compressing as well.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Feb. 22, 2026

Did you know that Dark Energy Camera has a resolution of 570 megapixel, almost 12 times more powerful than a modern mobile phone camera.

From Space Scoop ● Sep. 19, 2025

Released in September, this latest GoPro camera shoots 5.3K video, grabs 27 megapixel photos, works 33 feet underwater, has image stabilization and can shoot 60 frames per second — under some circumstances, 240 frames.

From Los Angeles Times ● Nov. 2, 2022

Apple has a long history of producing amazing images with 12 megapixel sensors and A-series chips, and for some reason this thing just looks awful.

From The Verge ● Mar. 17, 2022

The S22 and S22+ come with a 50 megapixel ultra-wide camera and 3x optical zoom.

From BBC ● Feb. 9, 2022

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023