From Longman Dictionary of Contemporary Englishpicturepic‧ture1 /ˈpɪktʃə $ -ər/ ●●● S1 W1 noun 1 painting/drawing [countable]AVPICTURE shapes, lines etc painted or drawn on a surface, showing what someone or something looks like The room had several pictures on the walls. a book with pictures in itpicture of I like that picture of the two horses.draw/paint a/somebody’s picture Draw a picture of your house. He asked her permission to paint her picture (=paint a picture of her).2 photograph [countable] a photographpicture of That’s a great picture of you, Dad!take somebody’s picture/take a picture of somebody I asked the waiter if he’d mind taking our picture.wedding/holiday etc pictures Would you like to see the wedding pictures?3 television [countable]TMT an image that appears on a television or cinema screenpicture of upsetting pictures of the famine in Africa satellite pictures from space4 description/idea [countable usually singular]DESCRIBE a description or idea of what something is likepicture of The book gives you a good picture of what life was like in Japan in the early 19th century. The article paints a rather bleak picture of the future of our planet. Detectives are trying to build up a picture of the kidnapper. The description in the guidebook showed rather a rosy picture (=one that makes you think that something is better than it really is). I now have a vivid picture (=very clear picture) in my mind.5 situation [singular]SITUATION the general situation in a place, organization etc The worldwide picture for tribal people remains grim. the wider political picture Checks throughout the region revealed a similar picture everywhere.big/bigger/wider picture We were so caught up with the details, we lost sight of the big picture (=the situation considered as a whole). 6 mental image [countable usually singular]IDEA an image or memory that you have in your mind Sarah had a mental picture of Lisbon. He had a vivid picture in his mind.7 → put/keep somebody in the picture8 → get the picture9 → out of the picture10 film a) [countable]AMF a film It was voted the year’s best picture. b) the pictures [plural] British English the cinema Would you like to go to the pictures?11 → be the picture of health/innocence/despair etc12 → be/look a picture → pretty as a picture at pretty2(7)COLLOCATIONS – Meaning 1: shapes, lines etc painted or drawn on a surface, showing what someone or something looks likeverbsdraw/paint a pictureShe drew a picture of a mushroom on the blackboard.do a picture of somebody/something (=draw or paint a picture)He’s done a picture of a monster.a picture hangs somewhereThree pictures hung on the wall over his bed.a picture shows something formalThe picture shows two women leaning down towards a third.a picture is of somebody/something (=used to talk about what a picture shows)There's a picture of his wife above the fireplace. THESAURUSpicture shapes, lines etc painted or drawn on a surface, especially as a piece of art, and often showing what someone or something looks likea picture of a horse He painted the picture in 1890, just before he died.drawing a picture drawn with a pencil, pen etcWe had to do a drawing of a sunflower.sketch a picture that is drawn quickly I made a quick sketch of the kind of room we wanted. painting a picture made using paintThe painting now hangs in the Museum of Modern Art. Picasso did several paintings of her.portrait a picture of a personThe portrait was painted by Rembrandt.landscape a picture of a place, especially in the countryside or the mountainsConstable painted mainly landscapes.cartoon a funny drawing in a newspaper or magazine that tells a story or a jokeA cartoon in the New York Times showed the president talking to Osama Bin Laden. comic strip a series of pictures drawn inside boxes that tell a storyCharles Schultz was famous for his cartoon strip about Snoopy and Charlie Brown.caricature a funny drawing of someone that makes a part of someone’s face or body look bigger, worse etc than it really is, especially in a funny wayHe is famous for his caricatures of politicians.illustration a picture in a bookThe book has over 100 pages of illustrations, most of them in colour.poster a large picture printed on paper that you stick to a wall as decorationold movie postersThere were lots of posters of pop bands on her bedroom wall.print a picture that is usually produced on a printing press, and is one of a series of copies of the same picturea limited edition of lithographic prints by John Lennonimage a picture – used especially when talking about what the picture is like, or the effect it has on youHe produced some memorable images.a beautiful imageSome of the images are deeply disturbing.artwork pictures or photographs, especially ones that have been produced to be used in a book or magazineWe are still waiting for the artwork to come back from the printers. COLLOCATIONS – Meaning 4: a description or idea of what something is likeadjectivesa clear/good pictureHe still didn’t have a clear picture of what had happened.a vivid picture (=very clear)Their diaries give us a vivid picture of their lives at the time.an accurate/true pictureOur aim is to build an accurate picture of the needs of disabled people.a distorted/misleading picture (=one that is not accurate)The media coverage left many people with a distorted picture.These figures give a misleading picture of the company’s financial health.a detailed pictureWe now have a detailed picture of the bird’s habits.a complete/full pictureBy asking these questions, I was able to get a more complete picture.an overall/general pictureThe study is intended to provide an overall picture of political activity in the nation.a bleak/gloomy/grim picture (=giving the impression that something is or will be bad)The report paints a bleak picture of the economy.a rosy picture (=giving the impression that something is or will be good)That figure paints a misleadingly rosy picture.verbshave a pictureI've never been there, but I have a picture of it in my mind.a picture emerges (=becomes clear)No clear picture emerges from the studies.get a pictureScientists have been trying to get a better picture of how the drug works.build up/form a picture (=gradually get an idea of what something is like)Detectives are still trying to build up a picture of what happened.give/provide a pictureHer book gives us an interesting picture of ordinary people’s homes at the time.present a pictureNewspapers tend to present a grim picture of what's going on in the world.paint a picture (=create a particular idea or impression, especially one that is not accurate)The latest survey paints a grim picture.
Examples from the Corpus
picture• Pictures of her family covered the coffee table.• By the 1930s, Garbo was reportedly earning $250,000 a picture.• There was a picture of a windmill on the bedroom wall.• An alarming picture encapsulated a false belief.• After all this rigmarole, they were to write a story to fit the words and pictures they had chosen.• To get a better picture of how the company is doing, look at sales.• an early picture by the French Impressionist painter Claude Monet• The media are merely the messengers, sometimes further sensationalizing and then passing along the false picture that has been painted.• Van Gogh's "Sunflowers' is one of the most famous pictures in the world.• They posed for pictures with him in the tunnel outside the clubhouse.• The house belonged to the Duke of Wellington, and his picture hangs in the hall.• Lee must win best foreign-language picture Oscar this spring-or indeed best picture.• I didn't know the word in Japanese so I drew a little picture.• Daisy did a lovely picture of a cat at school today.• My picture of Saja was correct only in the fact that he was a glutton.• Leo's picture is in the paper today.• The picture's all fuzzy.• I still have a vivid picture in my head of my first day in Paris.draw/paint a/somebody’s picture• Of course it was him that had messed up his diary, drawing those stupid pictures in it.• Charlotte used water-colours, and often spent hours painting small pictures.• Other economic indicators, however, paint a gloomier picture.• Repeated commissions and zemstvo investigations drew a grim picture of peasant destitution and growing frustration.• However, we were able to obtain the results for 1989 through 1991, and they do not paint a pretty picture.• Divide the students in pairs and have them draw a picture of a crane.• They drew one picture after another.• In Arles, Vincent painted a picture based on memory of the parsonage garden at Etten.wedding/holiday etc pictures• Many other themes came to mind when I started thinking about holiday pictures.• She has already altered her wedding pictures.• She hung these in the living room, near the wedding pictures.big/bigger/wider picture• On the wall there was a big picture of Sir Anthony at the piano.• The politics of taxation was, and remains, only a small part of a much bigger picture.• Only a small blip in the big picture.• They see the details but miss the big picture.• To peruse the big picture, as it were.• That is the closing point; the biggest picture in the exhibition will be the finale.• No one in the boats has the luxury of seeing the big picture, of viewing Fuji majestic in the distance.mental picture• They learn to let words create a mental picture and to then make a replica of their vision.• As they crossed Park Avenue, he had a mental picture of what an ideal pair they made.• She had a mental picture of Samuel Roberts' fine, hard face.• Somewhere between the event and the sentence is a mental picture.• Often we have only fragments of bones to build up a mental picture of the final complete skeleton.• This is in order to provide the reader with a mental picture of the house as the technical options are discussed.• They make a funny mental picture because she is so short and he is so tall, just for starters.• Disappointment followed, the lurid projector of mental pictures shut down and I was left feeling I ought to have known better.picturepicture2 ●●○ verb [transitive] 1 IMAGINEto imagine something by making an image in your mind Tom, picturing the scene, smiled.picture somebody/something as something Rob had pictured her as serious, but she wasn’t like that.picture somebody doing something I can’t picture him skiing. He’s so clumsy!picture what/how Picture what it would be like after a nuclear attack.► see thesaurus at imagine2 AVPICTUREto show someone or something in a photograph, painting, or drawing She is pictured with her mum Christine and sister Kelly.Grammar Picture is usually passive in this meaning.3 DESCRIBEto describe something in a particular waybe pictured as something She’s been pictured as a difficult, demanding woman.Grammar Picture is usually passive in this meaning.→ See Verb tableExamples from the Corpus
picture• Whichever, it seems that Arsenio isn't quite the sort of cultural diplomat I had optimistically pictured.• Both pictured a glamorous brunette, at least a dozen years older than herself.• When a child learns to picture and verbalize his feelings, he has the opportunity to reason and make intelligent choices.• They have been pictured as the ultimate wealth of the community.• I can still picture her lovely brown eyes.• I pictured her trying to eke out her money - for I was sure there was not much.• I had never met Graham but I pictured him as a pale, thin young man wearing glasses.• He wrote that it was not as he had pictured it as the weather was bitterly cold and wet with some snow.• Can you picture it? Lying in the sun, sipping cocktails -- it would be paradise!• I pictured myself picking at least three hundred pounds a day and took the job.• It is frighteningly easy to picture our children bald-gummed, big-headed as the babies they sprang out of.• Miguel could still picture the children laughing and joking, and chasing each other around the garden.picture somebody/something as something• I can't picture Jay as a ballet dancer.be pictured as something• Both the Minoan Goddess and Artemis were pictured as bees.• He is pictured as going down into the deep which now is a symbol of judgment.• Faith is pictured as the absence of doubt and the man of faith as the man with no doubts.• They are pictured as virtually irredeemable, lazy, dependent, living off the hard-earned money of others.Origin picture1 (1400-1500) Latin pictura, from pictus, past participle of pingere “to paint” 