picture: Meaning and Definition of

pic•ture

Pronunciation: (pik'chur), [key]
— n., v., -tured, -tur•ing.
—n.
  1. a visual representation of a person, object, or scene, as a painting, drawing, photograph, etc.: I carry a picture of my grandchild in my wallet.
  2. any visible image, however produced: pictures reflected in a pool of water.
  3. a mental image: a clear picture of how he had looked that day.
  4. a particular image or reality as portrayed in an account or description; depiction; version.
  5. a tableau, as in theatrical representation.
  6. See
  7. (older use). movies.
  8. a person, thing, group, or scene regarded as resembling a work of pictorial art in beauty, fineness of appearance, etc.: She was a picture in her new blue dress.
  9. the image or perfect likeness of someone else: He is the picture of his father.
  10. a visible or concrete embodiment of some quality or condition: the picture of health.
  11. a situation or set of circumstances: the economic picture.
  12. the image on a computer monitor, the viewing screen of a television set, or a motion-picture screen.
—v.t.
  1. to represent in a picture or pictorially, as by painting or drawing.
  2. to form a mental picture of; imagine: He couldn't picture himself doing such a thing.
  3. to depict in words; describe graphically: He pictured Rome so vividly that you half-believed you were there.
  4. to present or create as a setting; portray: His book pictured the world of the future.
Random House Unabridged Dictionary, Copyright © 1997, by Random House, Inc., on Infoplease.
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