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Synonyms

pic

1 American  
[pik] / pɪk /

noun

Slang.
  • pix,
    plural
  • pics
    plural
  1. a movie.

  2. a photograph.


pic 2 American  
[peek] / pik /
Or pique

noun

Piquet.
  1. the scoring of 30 points in the declaration of hands and in the play before one's opponent scores a point.

  2. the bonus of 30 points won for so scoring.


pic British  
/ pɪk /

noun

  1. informal a photograph, picture, or illustration

"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

Other Word Forms

Noun Inflected Forms


Etymology

Origin of pic1

First recorded in 1880–85; by shortening from picture

Origin of pic2

< French: literally, prick


Explanation

A pic is a photo or a snapshot. When you're visiting the Statue of Liberty, you might hand your camera to a stranger and ask if they'll take your pic. Use the informal pic as a slang term for picture. Your selfie-obsessed friend might insist on snapping pics of himself everywhere he goes, while your grandma might proudly show of the pics of her grandchildren she keeps in her wallet. You can also call a movie a pic. This word might sound fairly modern, but it's been around since the 1880s — not too long after photography was invented.

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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:

I swiped right on a man whose profile pic was of him hiking Runyon Canyon with his golden retriever.

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 28, 2026

In one photoshopped pic that went viral, Lamine Yamal -- who leads Argentina's opponent, Spain -- is wearing a Brazilian jersey.

From Barron's ● Jul. 18, 2026

The quick pic is sometimes even more ignorant, because its perpetrators believe they have some kind of special technique to avoid disturbing other patrons.

From Salon ● Jan. 11, 2026

"I was NOT prepared for the placenta pic," wrote one, and another replied: "Placenta and placenta pills were not on my bingo card for today but OK."

From BBC ● Aug. 4, 2025

"But I want a pic of his face ASAP."

From "The Martian" by Andy Weir

Said another: “The biggest villain in this story has to be the parent that posted the pics to Facebook.”

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 16, 2026

We know all of this because both of them posted pics.

From Salon ● Apr. 30, 2026

That pricey pad is also where the “Gossip Girl” alum flaunts her fashion-forward wardrobe on Instagram, and from those pretty pics, we’ve gotten a peek at the rustic-cool spaces.

From MarketWatch ● Apr. 30, 2026

I managed to get a few pics, but the flames were so bright that my camera’s settings went haywire.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 19, 2025

“Are those your winter formal pics? I saw a bunch on Insta!” she says, excited.

From "Five Feet Apart" by Rachael Lippincott

The collaboration between Billie and the bassiest Echo seems like a direct play for the tweenager room — an assumption bolstered by the frilly boudoir featured in promotional pix for the collab.

From The Verge ● Sep. 22, 2021

There’s no pix, only prose — And the ratings disclose That reviewers say: it’s “poor: no graphic.”

From Washington Post ● Sep. 5, 2019

Indeed, the only reason I got into social media was to post pix of my nasal hair on Instagram.

From The Guardian ● Feb. 3, 2016

In 1965 a portrait photographer sent her “some pix of myself which John rightly says could be used to advertise a rest home for the aged poor.”

From New York Times ● Jan. 5, 2016

John Mark is gonna record it all so I can take pix!

From "Blended" by Sharon M. Draper

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