picture

[ pik-cher ]

/ ˈpɪk tʃər /

Save This Word!

See synonyms for: picture / pictured / pictures / picturing on Thesaurus.com

noun

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.

any visible image, however produced: pictures reflected in a pool of water.

a mental image: a clear picture of how he had looked that day.

a particular image or reality as portrayed in an account or description; depiction; version.

a tableau, as in theatrical representation.

a movie: He signed a three-picture deal to star in the new franchise.
pictures, Older Use. movies collectively, as an art; cinema: So, you want to be in pictures?

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.

the image or perfect likeness of someone else: He is the picture of his father.

a visible or concrete embodiment of some quality or condition: the picture of health.

a situation or set of circumstances: the economic picture.

the image on a computer monitor, the viewing screen of a television set, or a motion-picture screen.

verb (used with object), pic·tured, pic·tur·ing.

to represent in a picture or pictorially, as by painting or drawing.

to form a mental picture of; imagine: He couldn't picture himself doing such a thing.

to depict in words; describe graphically: He pictured Rome so vividly that you half-believed you were there.

to present or create as a setting; portray: His book pictured the world of the future.

OTHER WORDS FOR picture

12, 14 delineate, paint, draw, represent.

See synonyms for picture on Thesaurus.com

QUIZ

WILL YOU SAIL OR STUMBLE ON THESE GRAMMAR QUESTIONS?

Smoothly step over to these common grammar mistakes that trip many people up. Good luck!

Question 1 of 7

Fill in the blank: I can’t figure out _____ gave me this gift.

who

whom

TAKE THE QUIZ TO FIND OUT

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

OTHER WORDS FROM picture

pic·tur·a·ble, adjectivepic·tur·a·ble·ness, nounpic·tur·a·bly, adverbpic·tur·er, noun

mis·pic·ture, verb (used with object), mis·pic·tured, mis·pic·tur·ing.self-pic·tured, adjectiveun·pic·tured, adjective

WORDS THAT MAY BE CONFUSED WITH picture

picture , pitcher

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

How to use picture in a sentence

Lee and Coogan did briefly meet with the pope, with pictures to prove it, but no one at the Vatican officially screened the film.
Pope Francis Has the Pleasure of Meeting Angelina Jolie for a Few Seconds|Barbie Latza Nadeau|January 8, 2015|DAILY BEAST
“The cyber attack against Sony Pictures Entertainment was not just an attack against a company and its employees,” he said.
Politicians Only Love Journalists When They're Dead|Luke O’Neil|January 8, 2015|DAILY BEAST
MGM and Columbia are both subsidiaries of Sony Pictures Entertainment.
Propaganda, Protest, and Poisonous Vipers: The Cinema War in Korea|Rich Goldstein|December 30, 2014|DAILY BEAST
Afterward, the graduates posed for pictures with their families.
Cop Families Boo De Blasio at NYPD Graduation|Michael Daly|December 30, 2014|DAILY BEAST

Even Sony Pictures Classics, who distributed the Before trilogy?
Coffee Talk with Ethan Hawke: On ‘Boyhood,’ Jennifer Lawrence, and Bill Clinton’s Urinal Exchange|Marlow Stern|December 27, 2014|DAILY BEAST
"The Smoker," and "Mother and Daughter," a triptych, are two of her principal pictures.
Women in the fine arts, from the Seventh Century B.C. to the Twentieth Century A.D.|Clara Erskine Clement
Was a pupil of Caspar Netscher of Heidelberg, whose little pictures are of fabulous value.
Women in the fine arts, from the Seventh Century B.C. to the Twentieth Century A.D.|Clara Erskine Clement
It is well known that Prud'hon and his pupil painted many pictures in collaboration.
Women in the fine arts, from the Seventh Century B.C. to the Twentieth Century A.D.|Clara Erskine Clement
The pictures of flowers which this artist paints prove her to be a devoted lover of nature.
Women in the fine arts, from the Seventh Century B.C. to the Twentieth Century A.D.|Clara Erskine Clement
Those four pictures—I would not sell those four Watteaus for one hundred thousand francs.
Checkmate|Joseph Sheridan Le Fanu

British Dictionary definitions for picture

picture

/ (ˈpɪktʃə) /

noun

a visual representation of something, such as a person or scene, produced on a surface, as in a photograph, painting, etc
(as modifier)picture gallery; picture postcard Related adjective: pictorial

a mental image or impressiona clear picture of events

a verbal description, esp one that is vivid

a situation considered as an observable scenethe political picture

a person or thing that bears a close resemblance to anotherhe was the picture of his father

a person, scene, etc, considered as typifying a particular state or qualitythe picture of despair

a beautiful person or sceneyou'll look a picture

a complete image on a television screen, comprising two interlaced fields

a motion picture; film
(as modifier)picture theatre

the pictures mainly British and Australian a cinema or film show

another name for tableau vivant

get the picture informal to understand a situation

in the picture informed about a given situation

verb (tr)

to visualize or imagine

to describe or depict, esp vividly

(often passive) to put in a picture or make a picture ofthey were pictured sitting on the rocks

Word Origin for picture

C15: from Latin pictūra painting, from pingere to paint

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 Idioms and Phrases with picture

picture

In addition to the idiom beginning with picture

picture is worth a thousand words, one

also see:

get the message (picture)
in the picture
pretty as a picture
take a picture
the picture

picture

OTHER WORDS FOR picture

Origin of picture

OTHER WORDS FROM picture

WORDS THAT MAY BE CONFUSED WITH picture

Words related to picture

How to use picture in a sentence

British Dictionary definitions for picture

Word Origin for picture

Other Idioms and Phrases with picture