picture

noun pic·ture \ ˈpik-chər \

Definition of picture

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

b :motion picture

c pictures plural :movies

5 :tableau 2

6 :situation

took a hard look at his financial picture

See picture defined for English-language learners

See picture defined for kids

Examples of picture in a Sentence

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.

Recent Examples of picture from the Web

Economists will also look for the release Friday of the private Caixin/Markit manufacturing PMI to get a more comprehensive picture of the economy.

— kelvin chan, The Seattle Times, "China factory growth accelerates, service industries slip," 30 Aug. 2017
Fans (not all of whom are crazy about her latest song) have a lot of time to earn boosts, whether through purchases or by posting pictures of custom Taylor Swift UPS trucks (yes, really) on Twitter.

— chris morris, Fortune, "Want to Improve Your Odds of Seeing Taylor Swift In Concert? Buy Her Album," 30 Aug. 2017
The Wolf Pack were represented by their mascot, Sonar, who took the stage with the Bruins mascot, Blaze, to take pictures and mingle with fans.

— john altavilla, courant.com, "Bruins Come To Hartford, Trying To Drive Up Fan Interest Where Whalers Once Ruled," 30 Aug. 2017
Turner checks his phone regularly, both for baby pictures and weather updates.

— zach buchanan, Cincinnati.com, "Turner back with club after stressful paternity leave," 29 Aug. 2017
After practice, Harbaugh and players spoke and posed for pictures with the 104th Fighter Squadron, a unit of the Maryland National Guard that recently returned from deployment in Syria and Iraq.

— jeff zrebiec, baltimoresun.com, "Ravens notebook: Coach John Harbaugh talks about contract extension," 29 Aug. 2017
Tombaugh made his discovery using a device called a blink comparator, which relies on a simple yet elegant technique: look at two pictures of a star field and compare them.

— jesse emspak, Smithsonian, "Astronomy Needs You: To Help in the Hunt for Planet 9," 28 Aug. 2017
The animal bones are also painting a more detailed picture of the strange world inhabited by Naia, an Ice Age girl found in the cave who is the oldest, most complete human skeleton yet discovered in the Americas.

— michael greshko, National Geographic, "Ice Age Predators Found Alongside Oldest Human in Americas," 25 Aug. 2017
Painting that picture is an art form in and of itself.

— jim ayello, USA TODAY Sports, "Behind the scenes with IndyCar spotters: 'The second most stressful job' in the sport," 24 Aug. 2017

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'picture.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

Origin and Etymology of picture

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

NEW! Time Traveler

First Known Use: 15th century

See Words from the same year

picture Synonyms

Synonyms

icon (also ikon), illustration, image, likeness

Related Words

delineation, depiction, representation, resemblance, view; portrait; daub, drawing, finger painting; etching, silhouette, sketch, watercolor; caricature, cartoon, doodle; collage, montage, photograph; hieroglyph, hieroglyphic, ideogram, ideograph; pictograph; diagram

Near Antonyms

antithesis, converse, opposite, reverse

Other Fine Arts Terms

Gothic, baroque, bas-relief, limn, oeuvre, pastiche, rococo, sfumato

picture

verb

Definition of picture

pictured; picturing play \ˈpik-chə-riŋ, ˈpik-shriŋ\

transitive verb

1 :to paint or draw a representation, image, or visual conception of :depict; also :illustrate

2 :to describe graphically in words

3 :to form a mental image of :imagine

See picture defined for English-language learners

Examples of picture in a Sentence

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 of picture from the Web

Several photos of the two-day rally — which attracted Neo-Nazis, the Ku Klux Klan, and other White supremacist hate groups — have gone viral with many Twitter users asking others on the social media platform to identify the men pictured.

— malaika jabali, Essence.com, "White Nationalists Are Getting Fired From Their Jobs And Disowned By Their Families," 15 Aug. 2017
Duke, Kansas, UCLA and Vanderbilt were the others pictured in a tweet by Garland.

— fletcher page, The Courier-Journal, "Kentucky, Indiana make the cut for 2018 five-star recruit," 21 July 2017
Kevin Spacey’s older brother Randy B. Fowler (pictured here in the Capitol Garage) owns Rod’s Limos in Boise.

— dana oland, idahostatesman, "What ties Idaho to a new Netflix movie? The director and the star’s wacky brother," 21 July 2017
In addition to lounges and bars, the club features a tea room, pictured below:

— lisa beebe, Los Angeles Magazine, "Here’s a First Look at h.Club LA, the Private Social Club Coming to Hollywood and Vine," 12 July 2017
In Qatar, being pictured together is used to show respect for the ruling family.

— donna abu-nasr, Bloomberg.com, "Like Father, Like Son: Qatar Pays Price for Going Against Saudis," 11 July 2017
Pictured from left are John Maravecek, past grand knight; Tom West, state soccer challenge chairman; Israel Cortez Jr., International Soccer Challenge champion; Israel’s father, Israel Cortez Sr.

— michelle mullins, Naperville Sun, "Naperville People in the News," 5 July 2017
So the kid in all of the photos at the younger Andy's house is actually the older Andy; that's why he's pictured wearing glasses and missing his two front teeth.

— ella ceron, Teen Vogue, ""Toy Story" Theory About Andy's Dad Goes Viral," 26 June 2017
One girl, Amaya Ahmedin, who turned 3 in February, is pictured in a gold party hat next to her smiling parents.

— karla adam, Washington Post, "London police confirm deadly high-rise fire began in an apartment fridge," 23 June 2017

First Known Use of picture

15th century

picture Synonyms

Synonyms

depict, image, portray, represent

Related Words

delineate, describe, document, render; outline, silhouette, sketch; illustrate, show; diagram; caricature

Near Antonyms

color, distort, falsify, garble, misdescribe, misrepresent, misstate, pervert, twist, warp

PICTURE Defined for English Language Learners

picture

noun

Definition of picture for English Language Learners

: a painting, drawing, or photograph of someone or something
: an idea of how something or someone looks, of what something is like, etc.
: a general situation

picture

verb

Definition of picture for English Language Learners

: to have a thought, understanding, or idea about (something or someone)
: to show or represent (someone or something) in a painting, drawing, or photograph
: to describe (something or someone) in a particular way

PICTURE Defined for Kids

picture

noun pic·ture \ ˈpik-chər \

Definition of picture for Students

1 :an image of something or someone formed on a surface (as by drawing, painting, printing, or photography)

2 :an idea of what someone or something might look like or be like

The book gives a picture of frontier life.

3 :a perfect example of something

She is the picture of health.

4 :movie 1

5 :an image on the screen of a television set

picture

verb

Definition of picture for Students

pictured; picturing

1 :to show or represent in a drawing, painting, or photograph

The artist pictured her leaning on a fence.

2 :to form an idea or mental image of :imagine

I can't picture myself skiing.

3 :to describe in a particular way The story pictured him as a gentle person.

Learn More about picture

See words that rhyme with picture Thesaurus: All synonyms and antonyms for picture Spanish Central: Translation of picture Nglish: Translation of picture for Spanish speakers Britannica English: Translation of picture for Arabic speakers

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picture

Definition of picture

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Recent Examples of picture from the Web

Origin and Etymology of picture

picture Synonyms

Synonyms

Related Words

Near Antonyms

Other Fine Arts Terms

picture

Definition of picture

Examples of picture in a Sentence

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First Known Use of picture

picture Synonyms

Synonyms

Related Words

Near Antonyms

PICTURE Defined for English Language Learners

picture

Definition of picture for English Language Learners

picture

Definition of picture for English Language Learners

PICTURE Defined for Kids

picture

Definition of picture for Students

picture

Definition of picture for Students

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