panorama

American  

[pan-uh-ram-uh, -rah-muh] / ˌpæn əˈræm ə, -ˈrɑ mə /

noun

panoramas plural

1. an unobstructed and wide view of an extensive area in all directions.

   Synonyms:

   prospect, vista, scene

2. a horizontally extended visual representation providing a wide view of a landscape or other scene, in photography made by joining a series of shots or by using a wide-angle lens, and in film by pivoting the camera horizontally from a fixed place.

3. Older Use

   1. an extended pictorial representation or a cyclorama of a landscape or other scene, often exhibited one part at a time and made to pass continuously before the spectators.

   2. a building for exhibiting such a pictorial representation.

4. a continuously passing or changing scene or an unfolding of events.

   the panorama of Chinese history.

5. a comprehensive survey, as of a subject.

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panorama British  

/ ˌpænəˈræmɪk, ˌpænəˈrɑːmə /

noun

1. an extensive unbroken view, as of a landscape, in all directions

2. a wide or comprehensive survey

   a panorama of the week's events

3. a large extended picture or series of pictures of a scene, unrolled before spectators a part at a time so as to appear continuous

4. another name for cyclorama

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Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• panoramic
  adjective
• panoramically
  adverb

Inflected Forms

Nouns

• panoramas
  plural

Etymology

Origin of panorama

First recorded in 1790–1800; pan- + Greek (h)órāma “view, sight,” derivative of horân “to see, look”

Explanation

A panorama is a wide, unbroken view, or a picture of one. Pay more for your hotel room in Hawaii and you'll likely get a balcony with a picture perfect panorama of the ocean. The noun panorama was coined in 1789 by the inventor and artist Robert Barker to describe “a complete view.” These days you can click the panorama setting on your camera to capture an extra wide vista or scene. Don’t confuse panorama with diorama: They sound similar, but remember that a panorama is the view and a diorama is the viewing device.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

panorama panoramas

Squint and you’ll see a boy holding a truck emblazoned with a UFW flag at the start and finish of the panorama.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 19, 2026

The gunfire did not appear to faze tourists, who ascended Morro Dois Irmaos at dawn on Tuesday to watch the sunrise over Rio's sweeping panorama of mountains and curved beaches.

From Barron's ● Apr. 21, 2026

“We must acknowledge how we have fallen short. That means welcoming as comprehensive a panorama of perspectives as possible—even, and especially, those that may be critical—and facing such criticism with humility and curiosity.”

From The Wall Street Journal ● Apr. 15, 2026

With £15,000 shelled out on 720,000 "Thank You" leaflets, residents were treated to a panorama of the Birmingham skyline.

From BBC ● Sep. 13, 2025

The treeless panorama ahead was among the most breathtaking sights in the state, even on a darkish night like this.

From "The Milagro Beanfield War" by John Nichols

He shifts effortlessly between bird’s-eye panoramas of battles and empires and close-up historical family dramas or images of himself rumbling along in a truck on dirt roads to visit the sites where things happened.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Dec. 19, 2025

They took slow panoramas from hilltops, and held still for minutes, sometimes hours, on downtown garment-shop blocks or railroad crossings.

From New York Times ● Jan. 19, 2024

But as in much of the county, the same chaparral and grassland that makes for picturesque panoramas is extremely flammable during fire season, which, due to climate change, is becoming longer and more explosive.

From Los Angeles Times ● Dec. 21, 2023

The men who created the Osborne panoramas couldn’t have known how much their successors would be able to learn from those photographs.

From Seattle Times ● Dec. 1, 2023

The money he spent at that time in taking the lads to panoramas and menageries would have constituted him life member of a missionary society.

From Lippincott's Magazine, Vol. 20, August 1877 by Various