picture (pictures plural & 3rd person present) (picturing present participle) (pictured past tense & past participle )
1 n-count A picture consists of lines and shapes which are drawn, painted, or printed on a surface and show a person, thing, or scene.
A picture of Rory O'Moore hangs in the dining room at Kildangan.
2 n-count A picture is a photograph.
The tourists have nothing to do but take pictures of each other...
3 n-count Television pictures are the scenes which you see on a television screen.
usu pl
...heartrending television pictures of human suffering.
4 verb To be pictured somewhere, for example in a newspaper or magazine, means to appear in a photograph or picture.
usu passive
The golfer is pictured on many of the front pages, kissing his trophy as he holds it aloft. be V-ed
...a woman who claimed she had been pictured dancing with a celebrity in Stringfellows nightclub... be V-ed -ing
The rattan and wrought-iron chair pictured here costs £125. V-ed
5 n-count You can refer to a film as a picture.
...a director of epic action pictures.
6 n-plural If you go to the pictures, you go to a cinema to see a film.
(BRIT) the N
(=cinema)
We're going to the pictures tonight...
in AM, use the movies
7 n-count If you have a picture of something in your mind, you have a clear idea or memory of it in your mind as if you were actually seeing it.
oft N of n
(=image)
We are just trying to get our picture of the whole afternoon straight...
8 verb If you picture something in your mind, you think of it and have such a clear memory or idea of it that you seem to be able to see it.
(=imagine)
He pictured her with long black braided hair... V n prep
He pictured Claire sitting out in the car, waiting for him... V n -ing
I tried to picture the place, but could not. V n
9 n-count A picture of something is a description of it or an indication of what it is like.
usu sing, with supp
I'll try and give you a better picture of what the boys do...
10 n-sing When you refer to the picture in a particular place, you are referring to the situation there.
oft the N
(=situation)
It's a similar picture across the border in Ethiopia.
11 If you get the picture, you understand the situation, especially one which someone is describing to you.
get the picture phrase V inflects
(=get the idea)
Luke never tells you the whole story, but you always get the picture.
12 If you say that someone is in the picture, you mean that they are involved in the situation that you are talking about. If you say that they are out of the picture, you mean that they are not involved in the situation.
in the picture/out of the picture phrase v-link PHR, PHR after v
Meyerson is back in the picture after disappearing in July...
13 You use picture to describe what someone looks like. For example, if you say that someone is a picture of health or the picture of misery, you mean that they look extremely healthy or extremely miserable.
a picture of sth/the picture of sth phrase v-link PHR
We found her standing on a chair, the picture of terror, screaming hysterically.
14 If you put someone in the picture, you tell them about a situation which they need to know about.
put sb in the picture phrase V inflects Has Inspector Fayard put you in the picture?
motion picture (motion pictures plural )A motion picture is a film made for cinema.
(mainly AM) n-count
(=movie)
It was there that I saw my first motion picture.
moving picture (moving pictures plural )A moving picture is a film.
OLD-FASHIONED n-count
picture book (picture books plural ), picture-book A picture book is a book with a lot of pictures in and not much writing. Many picture books are intended for children. n-count
picture library (picture libraries plural )A picture library is a collection of photographs that is held by a particular company or organization. Newspapers or publishers can pay to use the photographs in their publications. n-count oft in names
picture postcard (picture postcards plural )
The spelling picture-postcard is also used for meaning 2.
1 n-count A picture postcard is a postcard with a photograph of a place on it. People often buy picture postcards of places they visit when on holiday.
2 adj You can use picture postcard to describe a place that is very attractive.
ADJ n
(=picturesque)
...picture-postcard Normandy villages.
picture rail (picture rails plural ), picture-rail A picture rail is a continuous narrow piece of wood which is fixed round a room just below the ceiling. Pictures can be hung from it using string and hooks.
(mainly BRIT) n-count
picture show (picture shows plural )A picture show is a film or cinema.
(AM)
OLD-FASHIONED n-count
picture window (picture windows plural )A picture window is a window containing one large sheet of glass, so that people have a good view of what is outside. n-count
