picture
Americannoun
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pictures
plural
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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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pictures,
present (3rd person singular)
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pictured,
past participle, past
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picturing
present participle
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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:
Many of those in the crowds were army veterans and some men were draped in flags printed with his picture on.
From BBC ● Sep. 7, 2026
“She is officially a picture dog. We gotta get the line in her size. Unfortunately, she’s just got her fur on. We gotta work with Tommy on getting her some good clothes,” Kelce said.
From MarketWatch ● Sep. 7, 2026
At Chase, specialists might ask customers to picture what will happen if they send the money, or, if it is already sent, if it’s never paid back as the scammer promised.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 6, 2026
To investigate these hidden cell populations, Alexis worked with Dr. Maria Secrier's computational biology team at UCL to construct a detailed picture of the tumor and the immune and support cells surrounding it.
From Science Daily ● Sep. 6, 2026
After speaking to Mrs. Kuen, I had almost relented, almost agreed to take the first step and have my picture taken.
From "The Red Car to Hollywood" by Jennie Liu
Family pictures sit in her office, including one of her mom and her son.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 3, 2026
Young people across the country downloaded Snapchat as a way to send each other pictures that quickly disappeared.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 2, 2026
"We obtained pictures for more than 900 embryos from 39 snake and other limbless squamate species. That's a statistically robust sample."
From Science Daily ● Sep. 1, 2026
Grieving relatives gathered at identification centres to watch LED screens showing pictures of retrieved bodies, occasionally closing their eyes when the grim exercise overwhelmed them.
From Barron's ● Aug. 31, 2026
Nasty! she thought, sending pictures of both Freddy and the bush.
From "Jeremy Thatcher, Dragon Hatcher" by Bruce Coville
Woodfine was pictured giving Iraola a tour of the facilities at the AXA Training Centre when he arrived in June.
From BBC ● Sep. 7, 2026
He argued for an AI “for everyone” and pictured a future where the artificial intelligence tools his company was helping to create were integrated into the everyday functions of every single person on Earth.
From Salon ● Sep. 4, 2026
Within a decade she was “Gloria-Steinem-the-antiwar-gorgeous- bachelor girl who was pictured with Henry Kissinger in Time and Life…,” according to a breathless 1970 account in the Los Angeles Times.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 3, 2026
He was pictured inspecting a seafood processing facility on the island of Iturup, which Japan calls Etorofu.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 21, 2026
“Not who I would have pictured your dad with,” he agrees.
From "Keeping Pace" by Laurie Morrison
The Daily Telegraph calls the solar eclipse "the greatest show on Earth", picturing a crowd in Birmingham gazing at the phenomenon along with millions across the UK and Europe.
From BBC ● Aug. 12, 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
She toured some schools that happened to be cold or rainy, which kept her from fully picturing herself having a good experience there.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Apr. 19, 2026
For years, Randall told anyone who would listen, “I am picturing us dancing on a rooftop in Val di Fiemme celebrating a men’s relay medal.”
From The Wall Street Journal ● Feb. 19, 2026
He didn’t see anyone but Sarai, bright in his mind, laughing, beautiful, and alive—as though picturing her that way proved that she was.
From "Strange the Dreamer" by Laini Taylor
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.
