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

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

Its stock price has been rocketing higher for years on a growing realization that the highly parallel computing used to draw videogame pixels is a good fit for AI, too.

Read more on Barron's

You have been an active participant in the thing that Pixar accomplished, the transition of animation from paper and pencil to pixels and screens.

Read more on The Wall Street Journal

By pinpointing an issue where electric charge slightly spreads to neighboring pixels -- a phenomenon called the brighter-fatter effect -- the team designed algorithms that digitally corrected the images, fully restoring AMI's performance.

Read more on Science Daily

Resolution is limited by the size of pixels on the chip.

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As spectacle continues, the “No Kings” fight — once confined to the streets — now unfolds on screens, where political power is performed in pixels.

Read more on Salon