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
Francesca Gariano, People.com, 11 Jan. 2025
The robot takes a picture of homework but doesn’t just dish out answers.
—Noah Lyons, San Diego Union-Tribune, 11 Jan. 2025
Beth Kindig, Forbes, 9 Jan. 2025
Our original tester wore the men's version of the Environ jacket, and on a recent trip with the brand, three of us tested the women's version, and one wore the women's anorak version (pictured below).
—Grace Smith, People.com, 8 Jan. 2025
See all Example Sentences for picture 
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to
show current usage.
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Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors.
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Noun
Barnes’ snaps of her beau have included a sweet post from September 2023 of the couple in the middle of an embrace, an October 2024 picture posing with Ewers donning his UT Austin gear and on the field with the football star in December 2024.
—Francesca Gariano, People.com, 11 Jan. 2025
The robot takes a picture of homework but doesn’t just dish out answers.
—Noah Lyons, San Diego Union-Tribune, 11 Jan. 2025
Verb
Beth Kindig and the I/O Fund own shares in NVDA, TSM and BTC at the time of writing and may own stocks pictured in the charts
Beth Kindig is the CEO and Lead Tech Analyst for the I/O Fund and delivers weekly in-depth tech stock analysis to her free newsletter subscribers.
—Beth Kindig, Forbes, 9 Jan. 2025
Our original tester wore the men's version of the Environ jacket, and on a recent trip with the brand, three of us tested the women's version, and one wore the women's anorak version (pictured below).
—Grace Smith, People.com, 8 Jan. 2025
See all Example Sentences for picture
Dictionary Entries Near picture
Cite this Entry
“Picture.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/picture. Accessed 19 Jan. 2025.
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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