pixel

noun

pix·​el ˈpik-səl 

-ˌsel

plural pixels

1

: any of the small discrete elements that together constitute an image (as on a television or digital screen)

If the ball is flying from left to right across a video screen, a pixel at one fixed location on the screen will get darker and darker as time ticks on because it depicts points farther and farther to the left on the ball.

—Frédo Durand et al.

2

: any of the detecting elements of a solid-state optical sensor (such as a CCD or CMOS device)

The team used a new CCD detector that has an 8,192 by 8,192 pixel array, which makes it the world's largest astronomical CCD.

—Astronomy

the … CMOS image sensor provides a 9-µm pixel size …

—Mathew Dirjish

Did you know?

Is it pixelated or pixilated?

Pixelated is used to describe digital images in which individual pixels are discernable, as when you look closely at a large photo and can see the tiny dots that make up the image. Pixilated (coined from pixie, a pixie being a cheerful, mischievous sprite) is usually used to describe things considered whimsical, or people who seem dazed or lost in thought. While pixelated is a late 20th century coinage, pixilated has been in use since the mid-19th century.

Examples of pixel in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

The number of backlight LEDs is still far less than the total number of pixels by a magnitude of at least three, though, so some light bloom can still occur on the edges of high-contrast objects. —PCMAG, 26 Mar. 2024

Resolution Pixels are what makes up a digital photograph, with image resolution being composed of pixels per inch of an image. —Jack Byram, Better Homes & Gardens, 26 Mar. 2024

All materials — from marble, to sweetgrass, to pixels — have equal potential. —Holland Cotter, New York Times, 20 Mar. 2024

But both invisible watermarks, which can take the form of microscopic pixels or metadata, and visible labels can be removed, sometimes through rudimentary methods such as screenshotting and cropping. —Kevin Collier, NBC News, 19 Mar. 2024

That notice came after a Markup investigation found that several companies had sent sensitive financial data to Facebook through its advertising pixel. —Lauren Feiner, The Verge, 23 Feb. 2024

Resolution — meaning the quality and clarity of the picture — is measured by the number of pixels on your screen. —Laura Daily, Washington Post, 4 Feb. 2024

The array’s pixels are each just 200 microns wide and arranged in a 10 by 20 pixel grid. —IEEE Spectrum, 17 Mar. 2024

The film opens on the ancient stone-cutter image of an AOL screen, with that dial-up feedback sound, the primitive email, and a video feed (of Bill Clinton) coming into view through a brief haze of pixels. —Owen Gleiberman, Variety, 10 Mar. 2024

Word History

Etymology

pix + element

First Known Use

1965, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Kids Definition

pixel

noun

pix·​el ˈpik-səl 

-ˌsel

: any of the small elements that together make up an image (as on a television screen) or sensor (as in a camera)

Etymology

from pix, an altered form of pictures, and element