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
4
5
6
: situation
took a hard look at his financial picture
pictured; picturing
ˈpik-chə-riŋ 
ˈpik-shriŋ
1
: to form a mental image of : imagine
2
: to describe graphically in words
3
: to paint or draw a representation, image, or visual conception of : depict
also
: illustrate
Synonyms
Examples of picture in a Sentence
Noun
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.
Verb
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 on the Web
Hannah Sacks, Peoplemag, 7 Aug. 2024
The datasets generated detailed pictures of air pollution in four metro areas — San Francisco Bay Area, Los Angeles, Fresno and Sacramento — at the census tract level, based on race, ethnicity and socioeconomic disadvantage.
—Lisa M. Krieger, The Mercury News, 7 Aug. 2024
Tyler Buchanan, Axios, 8 Aug. 2024
Boeing’s Starliner spacecraft is pictured docked to the International Space Station orbiting above Egypt’s Mediterranean coast on June 13, 2024.
—Michael Sheetz, CNBC, 7 Aug. 2024
See all Example Sentences for picture 
Noun
Posting a sweet picture of her baby daughter with Kit and Spencer, the actress took a moment to reflect on growing her family in her caption.
—Hannah Sacks, Peoplemag, 7 Aug. 2024
The datasets generated detailed pictures of air pollution in four metro areas — San Francisco Bay Area, Los Angeles, Fresno and Sacramento — at the census tract level, based on race, ethnicity and socioeconomic disadvantage.
—Lisa M. Krieger, The Mercury News, 7 Aug. 2024
Verb
Zoom in: Other Ohioans with legendary Olympic performances are pictured below.
—Tyler Buchanan, Axios, 8 Aug. 2024
Boeing’s Starliner spacecraft is pictured docked to the International Space Station orbiting above Egypt’s Mediterranean coast on June 13, 2024.
—Michael Sheetz, CNBC, 7 Aug. 2024
See all Example Sentences for picture
These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'picture.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
Dictionary Entries Near picture
Cite this Entry
“Picture.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/picture. Accessed 19 Aug. 2024.
Copy CitationKids Definition
picture
1 of 2 noun
pic·ture
ˈpik-chər
1
: a design or image made on a surface (as by painting, drawing, or photography)
2
a
: a clear description in words
the book gives us a picture of another way of life
b
: a mental image : idea
do you get the picture?
3
: a particular combination of circumstances : situation
an improvement of the economic picture
4
a
: an exact likeness : copy
b
: a perfect symbol of something : embodiment
the picture of health
5
a
: an image on a screen
b
picture
adjective
picture
2 of 2 verb
pictured; picturing
ˈpik-chə-riŋ
ˈpik-shriŋ
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