pixel

[ pik-suhl, -sel ]

noun

, Computers, Television.

1. the smallest element of an image that can be individually processed in a video display system.

pixel

/ ˈpɪksəl /

noun

1. any of a number of very small picture elements that make up a picture, as on a visual display unit

pixel

/ pĭk′səl /

1. The most basic unit of an image displayed on a computer or television screen or on a printer. Pixels are generally arranged in rows and columns; a given combination among the pixels of various brightness and color values forms an image.
2. ◆ A subpixel is one of three components of a pixel used in the representation of a color image. Each subpixel represents the contribution of a single color—red, green, or blue—to the overall color and brightness of the pixel.

Word History and Origins

Origin of pixel¹

1965–70; pix ² (in the sense “pictures”) + el(ement)

Word History and Origins

Origin of pixel¹

C20: from pix pictures + el ( ement )

A Closer Look

The images on a computer screen are composed of tiny dots called pixels (short for picture element ). The computer controls each pixel individually. Most monitors have hundreds of thousands, or often millions, of pixels that are lit or dimmed to create an image. Each pixel of a color screen is made out of one red, one blue, and one green subpixel , generally arranged in a triangle, adjusted individually to create the combined effect of a single color but treated as a unit pixel for determining resolution. Pixels vary in size according to the size and resolution of the monitor. Smaller pixels provide higher resolution, and therefore sharper images, but require more memory to store the color and intensity data of each pixel and more processing time to refresh the screen. Resolution is frequently referred to in terms of dpi, or dots per inch.

Example Sentences

They have a lot of pixels on our page, and a lot of pixels on a lot of other publishers’ pages.

From Digiday

The speed of pixels moving across your field of vision is different to the speed of the player.

From Washington Post

In good light, it uses all of the pixels on the sensor individually.

From Popular-Science

If you have first-party data by way of pixel or email lists, that’s where I would start.

From Search Engine Land

To take precise brightness measurements of a star, we would need to be able to keep its center of brightness fixed to the same tiny fraction of a pixel, far finer than the width of a human hair.

From MIT Technology Review

I think I would be a drifting pixel in the online dating world right now.

From The Daily Beast

Inevitably, this time next year we will see 2,880 x 1,800 pixel screens all over the place.

From The Daily Beast

She lives in the same house as Pixel, our Italian Greyhound, who is something of a celebrity in Oaxaca.

From The Daily Beast

Technical Note: The illustrations were scanned at 400ppi and scaled to 25% by pixel count.

From Project Gutenberg

For this e-text, Plates were rescaled to 25% by pixel count, while most Figures were rescaled to 33%.

From Project Gutenberg

Related Words

• pel