picture

1 of 2

noun

pic·​ture ˈpik-chər How to pronounce picture (audio)
1
: a design or representation made by various means (such as painting, drawing, or photography)
2
a
: a description so vivid or graphic as to suggest a mental image or give an accurate idea of something
the book gives a detailed picture of what is happening
b
: a mental image
3
: image, copy
he was the picture of his father
she was the very picture of health
4
a
: a transitory visible image or reproduction
c
pictures plural : movies
5
6
: situation
took a hard look at his financial picture

picture

2 of 2

verb

pictured; picturing ˈpik-chə-riŋ How to pronounce picture (audio)
ˈpik-shriŋ

transitive verb

1
: to form a mental image of : imagine
2
: to describe graphically in words
3
: to paint or draw a representation, image, or visual conception of : depict
also : illustrate

Examples of picture in a Sentence

Noun I hung the picture on the wall. The book has a lot of pictures. Draw a picture of your house. The staff looked at the financial picture of the company. The overall economic picture is improving. Verb I can still picture the house I grew up in. I can't picture changing jobs at this point in my life. Picture what it would be like if you didn't own a car. Can you picture him as a teacher?
Recent Examples on the Web
Noun
And since Koch doesn’t currently have any public social media accounts, there aren’t any pictures of him with a possible boyfriend. Lissete Lanuza Sáenz, StyleCaster, 25 Oct. 2024 Gold creates some striking stage pictures through Isabella Byrd’s tremendous lighting, particularly in the balcony and finale sequences. Patrick Ryan, USA TODAY, 25 Oct. 2024
Verb
Christian Lindner, Germany’s finance minister, during a meeting Janet Yellen, US treasury secretary, not pictured, at the annual meetings of the IMF and World Bank in Washington, DC, US, on Thursday, Oct. 24, 2024. Sophie Kiderlin, CNBC, 25 Oct. 2024 But when the streamer recently released a behind-the-scenes look at the forthcoming Season 2, Gaiman was not pictured nor mentioned in both the video and Netflix’s official preview of the show’s sophomore run. Matt Webb Mitovich, TVLine, 24 Oct. 2024 See all Example Sentences for picture 

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'picture.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

Word History

Etymology

Noun

Middle English, from Latin pictura, from pictus, past participle of pingere to paint — more at paint

First Known Use

Noun

15th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Verb

15th century, in the meaning defined at sense 3

Time Traveler
The first known use of picture was in the 15th century

Dictionary Entries Near picture

Cite this Entry

“Picture.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/picture. Accessed 31 Oct. 2024.

Kids Definition

picture

1 of 2 noun
pic·​ture ˈpik-chər How to pronounce picture (audio)
1
: a design or image made on a surface (as by painting, drawing, or photography)
2
a
: a clear description in words
the book gives us a picture of another way of life
b
: a mental image : idea
do you get the picture?
3
: a particular combination of circumstances : situation
an improvement of the economic picture
4
a
: an exact likeness : copy
b
: a perfect symbol of something : embodiment
the picture of health
5
a
: an image on a screen
picture adjective

picture

2 of 2 verb
pictured; picturing ˈpik-chə-riŋ How to pronounce picture (audio)
ˈpik-shriŋ
1
: to draw or paint a picture of : depict
2
: to describe vividly
3
: to form a mental image of : imagine

More from Merriam-Webster on picture

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