picture
Americannoun
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a visual representation of a person, object, or scene, as a painting, drawing, photograph, etc..
I carry a picture of my grandchild in my wallet.
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any visible image, however produced.
pictures reflected in a pool of water.
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a mental image.
a clear picture of how he had looked that day.
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a particular image or reality as portrayed in an account or description; depiction; version.
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a tableau, as in theatrical representation.
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a movie.
He signed a three-picture deal to star in the new franchise.
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Older Use. pictures, movies collectively, as an art; cinema.
So, you want to be in pictures?
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a person, thing, group, or scene regarded as resembling a work of pictorial art in beauty, fineness of appearance, etc..
She was a picture in her new blue dress.
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the image or perfect likeness of someone else.
He is the picture of his father.
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a visible or concrete embodiment of some quality or condition.
the picture of health.
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a situation or set of circumstances.
the economic picture.
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the image on a computer monitor, the viewing screen of a television set, or a motion-picture screen.
verb (used with object)
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to represent in a picture or pictorially, as by painting or drawing.
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to form a mental picture of; imagine.
He couldn't picture himself doing such a thing.
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to depict in words; describe graphically.
He pictured Rome so vividly that you half-believed you were there.
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to present or create as a setting; portray.
His book pictured the world of the future.
noun
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a visual representation of something, such as a person or scene, produced on a surface, as in a photograph, painting, etc
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( as modifier )
picture gallery
picture postcard
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a mental image or impression
a clear picture of events
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a verbal description, esp one that is vivid
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a situation considered as an observable scene
the political picture
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a person or thing that bears a close resemblance to another
he was the picture of his father
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a person, scene, etc, considered as typifying a particular state or quality
the picture of despair
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a beautiful person or scene
you'll look a picture
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a complete image on a television screen, comprising two interlaced fields
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a motion picture; film
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( as modifier )
picture theatre
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a cinema or film show
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another name for tableau vivant
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informal to understand a situation
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informed about a given situation
verb
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to visualize or imagine
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to describe or depict, esp vividly
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(often passive) to put in a picture or make a picture of
they were pictured sitting on the rocks
Usage
Where does picture come from? A picture, as they say, is worth a thousand words. But what about the word picture? We’re not going to write a thousand words on picture—although we could. Believe us when we say we could. So, here’s a briefer word picture (see what we did there?) on the origin of this versatile word. In its most general sense, a picture is a visual representation of something, especially in the form of a painting, drawing, photograph, or the like. A picture can also refer to a mental image, among other senses. One meaning of picture, as a verb, is “to represent something in a picture or pictorially”—pictorial being a related adjective form variously used to refer to pictures. The word picture entered English around 1375–1425, borrowed directly from the Latin word pictūra, “the act of painting, a painting.” The word is based on pict(us), the past participle of the verb pingere, meaning “to paint.” The verb could also mean “to draw, embroider, represent,” among other senses. The second part of pictūra is -ūra, a noun suffix represented as -ure in English. See our entry at -ure to learn more about this suffix. Dig deeperThe meaning of the word picture has been very stable in English. Just as it originally did in the late 1300s, a picture can still refer to a drawing or painting— whether it’s your kid’s crayon-scrawled family portrait on your fridge or Leonardo DaVinci’s Mona Lisa in the Louvre. Both are masterpieces, as far as we’re concerned. Please note, though, that when referring to formal or professional works, we often use the name of the medium (painting, photograph, film), with picture referring to more informal or amateur creations. But picture has also been remarkably adaptable, readily lending itself to images created by new technologies: photography, cinema, TV, and all the pictures we take on our smartphones and post on social media. The word movie—it’s easy to forget in an age of Netflix streaming and viral TikTok videos—is shortened from the phrase moving picture. And what are digital images composed of? Tiny pixels. That word is based on pix, a variant of pics, a common shortening of picture. A picture, we might say today, is worth (many) thousands of pixels.
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
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picturablenessnoun
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picturernoun
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mispictureverb (used with object)
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picturableadjective
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self-picturedadjective
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unpicturedadjective
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picturablyadverb
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
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picturesimple
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picturessimple
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have picturedperfect
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has picturedperfect
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am picturingprogressive
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are picturingprogressive
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is picturingprogressive
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have been picturingperfect progressive
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has been picturingperfect progressive
Past
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picturedsimple
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had picturedperfect
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was picturingprogressive
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were picturingprogressive
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had been picturingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of picture
First recorded in 1375–1425; late Middle English, from Latin pictūra “the act of painting, a painting,” equivalent to pict(us) (past participle of pingere “to paint” ) + -ūra noun suffix; see paint, -ure
Explanation
Use the verb picture if you want people to imagine something vividly in their minds. If your story about your principal and some chickens is descriptive enough, your friends can picture the whole incident. A picture is also a piece of art made by painting or drawing, like the pictures by famous artists you see in a museum. In a book, a picture is an illustration that accompanies the text, often in a child's picture book. You can also call a photograph a picture. Your dad might take so many pictures on vacation that it seems like you spent your entire childhood hiding from his camera.
Vocabulary lists containing picture
Lesson 7
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Spelling Practice 1, Unit 5
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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:
"Summer of chaos" is the Daily Mirror's headline as it splashes with a picture of beachgoers watching fires rage in Lacanau, France.
From BBC ● Jul. 25, 2026
Officials will be contending with a challenging picture.
From MarketWatch ● Jul. 25, 2026
But the national rates don’t show the full picture.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 24, 2026
"For Cyclospora, it's not unusual for the picture to become clearer a couple of months after the first illnesses occur," he said in an email on Friday.
From BBC ● Jul. 24, 2026
It faded into the one in the picture, then moved away and came back different still.
From "Firegirl" by Tony Abbott
This simple organ probably did not create detailed pictures.
From Science Daily ● Jul. 26, 2026
BBC Sport has selected some of the best pictures from the fight, which came seven months on from the car crash in Nigeria in which Joshua was injured and two of his closest friends died.
From BBC ● Jul. 26, 2026
At the back of Arevalo's cart -- decorated all over with colorful menu pictures of chicken wings and coconut juice -- is an inverter that holds up to six, foot-long batteries.
From Barron's ● Jul. 25, 2026
Like Johnson’s pictures of coal operations, Mather’s work was commissioned by owners for investors and stockholders.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 22, 2026
“We found that out working in the pictures, right, June?”
From "The Red Car to Hollywood" by Jennie Liu
Perhaps he pictured a shared meal, clinking glasses and maybe a nostalgic movie on the sofa before comfortably sinking into slumber and loud farting.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 24, 2026
We all know the story by now of the duo's first meeting almost 20 years ago, when a five-month-old Lamine Yamal was pictured being bathed by a 20-year-old Messi for a competition photoshoot.
From BBC ● Jul. 19, 2026
In 1995, when he was asked to lecture about childhood as depicted in 18th-century British art, what surprised him was all the dogs pictured among the children.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 17, 2026
Earlier in the week, he was joined by the Queen on a visit to London Zoo, where he was pictured during sweltering temperatures as much of the UK experiences a heatwave.
From BBC ● Jul. 10, 2026
The night also had a slight breeze, and when she pictured herself swinging in the breeze, clinging to a rope made of ugly clothing, she almost gave up entirely.
From "The Bad Beginning" by Lemony Snicket
I was just picturing them both hating how I bastardized their song.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 10, 2026
He would study maps and globes, picturing the people and animals who call the coldest reaches of the Earth home.
From The Wall Street Journal ● May 17, 2026
But picturing your future self—and mentally “traveling back” to who you are now—has been shown to increase savings behavior, according to a 2024 study published in the Journal of Consumer Research.
From MarketWatch ● Apr. 25, 2026
Stop picturing a standard vending machine with rotating coils and falling snacks.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Dec. 18, 2025
I shook my head, picturing my gramps’s face again when we shook hands.
From "We Were Here" by Matt De La Peña
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
