What does pixel mean?
A pixel is the smallest individually addressable element into which a digital image or display is divided. In a photograph, game, illustration, or video, pixels are arranged in rows and columns to create the appearance of a continuous picture, although each one has a discrete position and colour value. The number and density of pixels help determine an image’s resolution and fineness of detail. Pixel can also be used informally for a tiny or low-resolution image, especially in discussions of early computer graphics, animation, and video. In ordinary speech, people often speak of making an image “pixelated” when its pixels become conspicuously visible, producing a blocky or distorted appearance. The term became established through the development of digital imaging and computer display technology. It is a standard technical noun in computing, photography, graphic design, and digital media, while its figurative use remains informal.
nounA picture element: one of the smallest individually addressable units into which a digital image or display is divided. Each pixel may have a specified position and colour value.
- One of the discrete points or coloured units that make up a digital image, display, or bitmap.
- Informally, a very small image or a low-resolution representation of one.
"The map looked clear on a large screen, but its labels became illegible when compressed into too few pixels."
"The artist created the portrait by carefully adjusting the colour of each pixel."
"The old computer displayed the football match as a flickering field of coloured pixels."
The standard plural is “pixels.”
"Millions of pixels combine to form the image on a high-resolution display."
The word pixel compresses “picture element” into a single building block of digital vision.
Reviewed by Deb Chak, Editor. AI-assisted content curated by RJS Tech Solutions LLP.
Where does pixel come from?
Pixel was coined in 1947 as a blend of “picture” and “element,” a compressed name for a picture element. Its creation coincided with the development of electronic television and computer imaging, in which images were represented as arrays of discrete points. The element “picture” ultimately comes from Latin pictus, meaning painted or depicted, which is related to pingere, “to paint.”
Related word forms
How pixel is actually used
In technical use, “pixel” is normally a countable noun and is frequently used attributively, as in “pixel density” or “pixel colour.” The informal sense can convey low resolution, visual distortion, or a deliberately stylised image.
Easily confused with pixel
A pixel is a point-like element in a two-dimensional image, whereas a texel is a corresponding element in a three-dimensional volume.
A pixel represents an image element, while a voxel represents a small three-dimensional cell in a volumetric grid.