pixel

[pik-suh l, -sel]

See more synonyms for pixel on Thesaurus.com

noun Computers, Television.

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

Origin of pixel

1965–70; pix² (in the sense “pictures”) + el(ement)

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018

Related Words for pixel

element, component, constituent, dot

Examples from the Web for pixel

Contemporary Examples of pixel

Inevitably, this time next year we will see 2,880 x 1,800 pixel screens all over the place.
5 Reasons I Hate My New MacBook Pro: A Geek’s Critique
Jason Stewart
June 15, 2012
She lives in the same house as Pixel, our Italian Greyhound, who is something of a celebrity in Oaxaca.
In Praise of the Mexican Hairless Dog
Noah Kristula-Green
February 14, 2012

Historical Examples of pixel

For this e-text, Plates were rescaled to 25% by pixel count, while most Figures were rescaled to 33%.
First Annual Report of the Bureau of Ethnology to the Secretary of the Smithsonian Institution
Various
Technical Note: The illustrations were scanned at 400ppi and scaled to 25% by pixel count.
Printers' Marks
William Roberts

British Dictionary definitions for pixel

pixel

noun

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

Word Origin for pixel

C20: from pix pictures + el (ement)

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

Word Origin and History for pixel

1969, coined to describe the photographic elements of a television image, from pix + first syllable of element.

pixel in Medicine

pixel

[pĭk′səl]

The smallest image-forming unit of a video display.

pixel in Science

pixel

[pĭk′səl]

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.♦ 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.

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.