picture

noun pic·ture \ ˈpik-chər \

Updated on: 15 May 2018

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

Speaking of that, take a look at the comparison of these two pictures.

— Fox News, "Cotton: Gina Haspel has been keeping US safe for 30 years," 10 May 2018
During the break, Justin was seen attending concerts and hanging out with model Baskin Champion, which sparked rumors that maybe the two were hooking up while Selena was slightly out of the picture.

— alison caporimo, Seventeen, "Selena Gomez Officially Breaks Up with Justin Bieber and Apparently She's "Thrilled" About It," 10 May 2018
The book is a treasure trove of pictures of homes, churches, schools and barns, as well as descriptions of various architectural styles and periods.

— mary jane brewer, cleveland.com, "Susan McKiernan schools Weymouth residents on local history: Medina Local Legends," 10 May 2018
All the images were originally of healthy weight women, but researchers altered some of the pictures to make the models appear larger or smaller by increasing or decreasing the width of the images by 150 pixels.

— roni dengler, Science | AAAS, "Does looking at skinny models make you feel bad? Science says you’re not alone," 8 May 2018
Pollution can vary drastically over small areas, and many of the cities on the list are reporting data from just one air quality monitor, which may not be representative of the true picture of pollution in the city.

— umair irfan, Vox, "Why India’s pollution levels are so high," 8 May 2018
At the 2016 draft, Roseman’s first with former head coach Chip Kelly out of the picture, the Eagles gave up a draft fortune to Cleveland to move up from the No.

— jonathan jones, SI.com, "Philadelphia Eagles Are Living Large, Thanks to the Work of GM Howie Roseman," 8 May 2018
Even his girlfriend Jane Foster (Natalie Portman) is no longer a part of the picture.

— richard newby, The Hollywood Reporter, "The Boundless Potential of Thor," 6 May 2018
For the past few years, celebrities gather in the museum's bathrooms to snap some of the most unexpected group pictures of all time.

— Glamour, "11 Pressing Questions About the 2018 Met Gala," 4 May 2018

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

in the meaning defined at sense 1

See Words from the same year

picture Synonyms

Synonyms

abstraction, cogitation, concept, conception, idea, image, impression, intellection, mind's eye, notion, thought;

Near Antonyms

actuality, fact, reality;

preconception, prejudice, prepossession;

delusion, hallucination, illusion, phantasm (also fantasm);

caprice, conceit, fancy, vagary, whim;

cognition, observation, perception, reflection;

assumption, belief, conclusion, conviction;

conjecture, guess, hunch, hypothesis, speculation, supposition, surmise, theory;

brainchild, brainstorm, brain wave, inspiration;

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

The videos illustrate a range of scenarios: Some show the mammals being coddled as pets, while others picture them sparring among themselves or being hunted by humans.

— jessica leigh hester, WIRED, "What Ecologists Can Learn From Memes," 7 May 2018
Dawn Stone, nutrition services specialist for the Escondido Union School District, pictured with Superintendent Luis Rankins-Ibarra, has been named the San Diego County Classified School Employee of the Year for 2018.

— laura groch, sandiegouniontribune.com, "Districts name teachers, classified employees of the year," 3 May 2018
In other words, a bunch of celebrities have a party at the Met, all dressed like singular Aquarians (special shoutout to the iconic Pisces and perennial Gala MVP pictured above).

— EW.com, "Your May pop culture horoscope revealed: Sweetbitter, Melissa McCarthy, and a royal wedding," 2 May 2018
Nestled in a tranquil corner of the Polo Field, the four glamping yurts (pictured at top) are decked-out by the W Hotels group, inspired by their hotels in Barcelona, Dubai, Bali, and Hollywood.

— brittany martin, Los Angeles Magazine, "Helicopters, Yurts, and Other Over-the-Top Coachella Upgrades," 5 Apr. 2018
On his first day at the Adelanto Detention Facility, Avelica pictured his future: back in his hometown of San Juan de Abajo in the coastal state of Nayarit, sitting alone, despondent, on a rustic bench outside his late parents’ empty brick house.

— andrea castillo, www.latimes.com, "How one L.A. father’s arrest put an entire neighborhood on edge," 5 Apr. 2018
The line features apparel, jewelry, scarves, handbags, and hair styling tools, not to mention these adorable, inspirational clutches, as pictured in her Instagram photo.

— susan brickell, Health.com, "We're Obsessed With Drew Barrymore's New Clutch—and You Can Buy It on Amazon," 3 Apr. 2018
With the OnePlus 5T (pictured above), the company charged $499 for 6GB of RAM with 64GB of storage, and $559 for 8GB of RAM with 128GB of storage.

— michael simon, PCWorld, "OnePlus 6 specs revealed: Snapdragon 845, 256GB of storage to go with its notch," 3 Apr. 2018
Teddy, the lost dog pictured on dozens of neon signs posted this winter in Southington, Plainville, Berlin and Bristol, is back in his Southington home after running away Feb. 22.

— bill leukhardt, Courant Community, "Teddy The Labradoodle, Missing For Over A Month, Found Alive And Well," 28 Mar. 2018

First Known Use of picture

15th century

in the meaning defined at sense 1

See Words from the same year

NEW! Time Traveler

picture Synonyms

Synonyms

delineate, depict, describe, draw, image, limn, paint, portray, render, set out, sketch;

Near Antonyms

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

demonstrate, illustrate;

narrate, recite, recount, rehearse, relate, report, tell;

display, exhibit, show;

hint, suggest;

draft, outline, silhouette, trace, vignette;

summarize, sum up, touch off;

redescribe, reimage;

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

Examples of picture in a Sentence

Recent Examples of picture from the Web

Origin and Etymology of picture

picture Synonyms

Synonyms

Near Antonyms

Related Words

Other Fine Arts Terms

picture

Definition of picture

Examples of picture in a Sentence

Recent Examples of picture from the Web

First Known Use of picture

picture Synonyms

Synonyms

Near Antonyms

Related Words

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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