What does picture mean?
“Picture” is a highly versatile English word that can refer to a photograph, painting, drawing, or other visual representation, and by extension to a movie or to cinema as an art form. It also describes an image in the mind: when someone says they cannot picture a place or event, they mean they cannot imagine it clearly. In conversation, “picture” may be used more broadly to mean a clear description or impression of a situation, as in “Give me a picture of what happened.” As a verb, it means to imagine, depict, or photograph. These meanings are interconnected because a picture represents something and can also create an impression in the viewer. The word is common in both British and American English and appears in familiar expressions such as “take a picture,” “paint a picture,” and “in pictures.” Its flexibility makes it useful for describing both concrete visual objects and abstract mental or verbal representations.
A visual representation of a person, object, place, event, or idea, especially in a photograph, painting, drawing, or other image. It may also mean a mental impression, a description of a situation, or cinema as a medium.
"The wall was covered with pictures of the family."
The phrase “in pictures” refers to films or the film industry, while “a picture of” can mean a description or impression rather than an actual image.
To form a mental image of someone or something, imagine a situation, or represent someone or something in a visual or verbal image. It can also mean to take a photograph of someone or something.
"It is difficult to picture how the landscape looked before the road was built."
The common construction is “picture someone or something doing something,” meaning to imagine that person or thing in a particular action.
The regular plural is “pictures.”
"The children drew pictures of their favorite animals."
The word “picture” can mean an image, a scene, a mental impression, or even the whole world of film, making it one of English's most versatile nouns.
Reviewed by Deb Chak, Editor. AI-assisted content curated by RJS Tech Solutions LLP.
Etymology of picture
The English word “picture” comes through Old French from the Latin noun pictūra, meaning a painting or representation, which was derived from pingere, “to paint.” The same Latin root underlies related English words such as “paint,” “painter,” “painting,” and “depict.” Over time, the word broadened from a painted or drawn representation to photographs and other visual images, and later to a mental image or description. Its modern range of meanings reflects this development from an actual depiction to any act of representing or imagining something.
Related word forms
How picture is actually used
The noun is standard in both formal and informal contexts. “Picture” for a mental impression is common in everyday speech, while “put on a brave face” and “in pictures” are more idiomatic expressions. The verb “picture” is often used with a gerund complement, as in “I can't picture living there.”
Easily confused with picture
A picture is a visual representation, whereas a picket is a stake or a person posted to watch or protest at a location.