Picture: A Painting, a Photograph, and the Cinema
A picture is a visual representation. British English once used the pictures for the cinema, and the word still means film in the industry.
A picture is any visual representation: a painting, a photograph, a drawing. The film industry adopted it early — a motion picture — and Britain went to *the pictures* for most of the twentieth century. The Academy still gives its main award to a picture rather than a film.
- A visual representation. *A picture of the harbour.*
- A film. *A motion picture.*
- A mental image. *Get the picture?*
- To imagine. *Picture the scene.*
Word forms
| Form | Word | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Noun | picture | A framed picture. |
| Plural | pictures | Family pictures. |
| Verb | picture | Picture it. |
| Adjective | picturesque | A picturesque village. |
| Related | pictorial | A pictorial record. |
How it is used in a sentence
- Put the picture back on the wall.The object.
- We went to the pictures on Saturday.British, and now slightly dated.
- I get the picture.Meaning I understand the situation.
Picture phrases
- In the picture — informed and included
- Out of the picture — no longer involved
- Picture of health — looking extremely well
- Bigger picture — the wider context
- Picture-perfect — flawless in appearance
From Latin *pictura*, from *pingere*, to paint — the same root as *paint*, *pigment* and *depict*. *Picturesque* came later from Italian, meaning fit to be made into a picture.
Picture or photograph?
A photograph is one kind of picture. Picture is the general word and covers paintings and drawings too.
Why does *the pictures* mean the cinema?
From moving pictures, the early name for film. The phrase stuck in British speech for decades.