picture
noun OPAL S
/ˈpɪktʃə(r)/
/ˈpɪktʃər/
Idioms 
enlarge image[countable] a painting or drawing, etc. that shows a scene, a person or thing- He likes books with lots of pictures in them.
- picture of somebody/something A picture of flowers hung on the wall.
- The children were drawing pictures of their pets.
- She wanted a famous artist to paint her picture (= a picture of herself).
Synonyms picturepicture- painting
- drawing
- portrait
- sketch
- picture a scene, person or thing that has been represented on paper using a pencil, a pen or paint:
- The children were drawing pictures of their pets.
- painting a picture that has been made using paint:
- a collection of paintings by American artists
- drawing a picture that has been made using a pencil or pen, not paint:
- a pencil/charcoal drawing
- portrait a painting, drawing or photograph of a person, especially of the head and shoulders:
- Vermeer’s ‘Portrait of the artist in his studio’
- a self-portrait (= a painting that you do of yourself)
- print a picture that has been copied from a painting using photography:
- a Renoir print
- sketch a simple picture that is drawn quickly and does not have many details:
- I usually do a few very rough sketches before I start on a painting.
- to draw a picture/portrait/sketch
- to paint a picture/portrait
- to make a painting/drawing/portrait/print/sketch
- to do a painting/drawing/portrait/sketch
Extra ExamplesTopics Houses and homesa1- It's a picture of a country village.
- It's a picture of the Grand Canyon.
- The book has simple stories and pictures to colour in.
- The story is told in pictures.
Oxford Collocations Dictionaryadjective- beautiful
- lovely
- pretty
- …
- draw
- paint
- compose
- …
- depict something
- show something
- hang
- …
- frame
- book
- postcard
- …
- in a/the picture
- picture of
- [countable] a photograph
- to take a picture
- We had our picture taken in front of the hotel.
- The picture shows the couple together on their yacht.
- picture of somebody/something She posted a picture of the two of them on her Facebook page.
- Have you got any pictures of your trip?
- The star shared the picture on Twitter.
- to upload/send/tweet a picture
Synonyms photographphotograph- picture
- photo
- shot
- snapshot/snap
- photograph a picture that has been made using a camera:
- a photograph of the house
- Can I take a photograph?
- picture a photograph:
- We had our picture taken in front of the hotel.
- photo a photograph:
- a passport photo
- shot a photograph:
- I tried to get a shot of him in the water.
- snapshot/snap an informal photograph that is taken quickly, and not by a professional photographer:
- holiday snaps
- print a copy of a photograph that is produced from film or from a digital camera:
- a set of prints
- a colour photograph/picture/photo/snap/print
- to take a photograph/picture/photo/shot/snapshot
Express Yourself Describing a pictureDescribing a pictureIn some exams, you have to describe what you see in a picture or photograph. Here are some useful phrases:- The picture shows a family gathered around a kitchen table.
- This is a picture/photo of a busy city street.
- In the foreground/background, we can see a group of protesters.
- In the bottom right-hand corner/top left-hand corner, there's a child sitting alone.
- On the left/On the right/In the middle, someone is standing with a bottle in his hand.
- In the cartoon, we can see two people looking at a newspaper headline.
- The cartoonist has drawn the man to represent a typical businessman.
Extra Examples- I can't see you in the picture.
- I got some good pictures of the procession.
- This picture shows the man with his family.
- His picture appeared in the local paper.
Oxford Collocations Dictionaryadjective- beautiful
- lovely
- pretty
- …
- draw
- paint
- compose
- …
- depict something
- show something
- hang
- …
- frame
- book
- postcard
- …
- in a/the picture
- picture of
- [countable] picture (of somebody/something) an image on a television screen
- harrowing television pictures of the famine
- You are looking at live pictures of midtown Manhattan.
- poor picture quality
Oxford Collocations Dictionaryadjective- compelling
- dramatic
- vivid
- …
- build
- build up
- construct
- …
- emerge
- [countable, usually singular] a description that gives you an idea in your mind of what something is like
- We've only got scraps of information, not the full picture.
- picture of something The writer paints a gloomy picture of the economy.
- a bleak/grim picture of the future
- a clear/an accurate/a complete picture of these events
- The police are trying to build up a picture of what happened.
- From news reports a picture emerges of a country in crisis.
- The TV report painted a much rosier picture of the employment situation than research shows to be the case.
Extra Examples- The book gives a vivid picture of life in Victorian England.
- Through interviews and old photos we put together a composite picture of life in the village a hundred years ago.
- They're trying to build up a detailed picture of the incident.
- What emerges is a complex picture of family rivalry.
- From newspaper reports a picture emerges of a country barely under control.
- a composite picture of life a hundred years ago
- My visits enabled me to build up a broad picture of the culture.
- The figures reveal a disturbing picture of the state of our schools.
Oxford Collocations Dictionaryadjective- compelling
- dramatic
- vivid
- …
- build
- build up
- construct
- …
- emerge
- [countable, usually singular] picture (of somebody/something) a mental image or memory of something
- I have a vivid picture of my grandfather smiling down at me when I was very small.
- He uses imagery to form mental pictures within the mind of the reader.
Extra Examples- She had formed a picture of what the place would look like and was very disappointed.
- I had a sudden and chilling mental picture of him being interrogated in one of their prisons.
- The smell of the sea conjures up pictures of my youth.
- I tried to form a mental picture of the building being described.
Oxford Collocations Dictionaryadjective- compelling
- dramatic
- vivid
- …
- build
- build up
- construct
- …
- emerge
- the picture[singular] the general situation relating to somebody/something
- Just a few years ago the picture was very different.
- The overall picture for farming is encouraging.
- The documentary was interesting but it didn't give the full picture.
- [countable] a film
- The movie won nine Academy Awards, including Best Picture.
- in pictures (especially North American English) I believe her husband's in pictures (= he acts in movies or works in the movie industry).
Oxford Collocations Dictionaryadjective- moving
- live
- satellite
- …
- the pictures[plural] (old-fashioned, informal) the cinema
- Shall we go to the pictures tonight?
Oxford Collocations Dictionaryadjective- moving
- live
- satellite
- …
painting/drawing
photograph
on TV
description
mental image
general situation
movies
Word Originlate Middle English: from Latin pictura, from pict- ‘painted’ (from the verb pingere).
Idioms
as pretty as a picture
- (old-fashioned) very pretty
- She’s as pretty as a picture.
More Like This Similes in idiomsSimiles in idioms- (as) bald as a coot
- (as) blind as a bat
- (as) bright as a button
- (as) bold as brass
- as busy as a bee
- as clean as a whistle
- (as) dead as a/the dodo
- (as) deaf as a post
- (as) dull as ditchwater
- (as) fit as a fiddle
- as flat as a pancake
- (as) good as gold
- (as) mad as a hatter/a March hare
- (as) miserable/ugly as sin
- as old as the hills
- (as) pleased/proud as Punch
- as pretty as a picture
- (as) regular as clockwork
- (as) quick as a flash
- (as) safe as houses
- (as) sound as a bell
- (as) steady as a rock
- (as) thick as two short planks
- (as) tough as old boots
be/look a picture
- to look very beautiful or special
- The garden looks a picture in the summer.
be the picture of health, guilt, misery, etc.
- (informal) to look extremely healthy, guilty, unhappy, etc.
the big picture
- (informal) the situation as a whole
- Right now forget the details and take a look at the big picture.
get the picture
- (informal) to understand a situation, especially one that somebody is describing to you
- ‘I pretended that I hadn't heard.’ ‘I get the picture.’
in/out of the picture
- (informal) involved/not involved in a situation
- Morris is likely to win, with Jones out of the picture now.
paint a (grim, gloomy, rosy, etc.) picture of somebody/something
- to describe somebody/something in a particular way; to give a particular impression of somebody/something
- The report paints a vivid picture of life in the city.
- Journalists paint a grim picture of conditions in the camps.
Extra Examples- He didn't paint a very pretty picture of city life.
- The report paints a dismal picture of the government's economic record.
put/keep somebody in the picture
- (informal) to give somebody the information they need in order to understand a situation
- Just to put you in the picture—there have been a number of changes here recently.