1pic·ture 
/ˈpɪktʃɚ/ noun
plural pic·tures /ˈpɪktʃɚ/ noun 1 [count] : a painting, drawing, or photograph of someone or something
▪ I hung the picture on the wall. ▪ The book has a lot of pictures. ▪ Draw a picture of your house. ▪ We looked at family pictures. [=photos] ▪ We took pictures [=photographs] of the wedding. ▪ a picture frame [=a frame for holding a picture] 2 [count] : an idea of how something or someone looks, of what something is like, etc. — usually singular ▪ I have a mental picture of what he looks like. ▪ The book gives us a picture of life in a small village. ▪ I don't yet have a full picture of what's going on. ▪ After your explanation, I have a better/clearer picture of what to expect. ▪ (informal) You've said enough. I get the picture. [=I understand; I get the idea] 3 [noncount] : a general situation
▪ The staff looked at the financial picture of the company. ▪ The overall economic picture is improving. ▪ Marriage never entered the picture [=was never considered] until now. ▪ After a brief separation, her boyfriend is back in the picture. [=she is dating him again] ▪ With last year's winner out of the picture [=no longer in the competition], she has a good chance of winning. — see also big picture 4 [count] : an image on the screen of a television set
▪ The picture is fuzzy. 5 a [count] : a movie or film
▪ “Casablanca” won the award for Best Picture in 1943.
b the pictures old-fashioned : a showing of a movie in a theater
▪ I took my girlfriend to the pictures. [=(US) the movies]
c pictures [plural] : the movies or movie industry
▪ He wants to work in pictures. 6 [noncount] a : someone or something that looks exactly like someone or something else
▪ He is the picture of his father. [=he looks just like his father]
b : a perfect example of something
▪ She is the picture of health. [=she looks very healthy]
▪ I hung the picture on the wall. ▪ The book has a lot of pictures. ▪ Draw a picture of your house. ▪ We looked at family pictures. [=photos] ▪ We took pictures [=photographs] of the wedding. ▪ a picture frame [=a frame for holding a picture]
▪ The staff looked at the financial picture of the company. ▪ The overall economic picture is improving. ▪ Marriage never entered the picture [=was never considered] until now. ▪ After a brief separation, her boyfriend is back in the picture. [=she is dating him again] ▪ With last year's winner out of the picture [=no longer in the competition], she has a good chance of winning. — see also big picture
▪ The picture is fuzzy.
▪ “Casablanca” won the award for Best Picture in 1943.
b the pictures old-fashioned : a showing of a movie in a theater
▪ I took my girlfriend to the pictures. [=(US) the movies]
c pictures [plural] : the movies or movie industry
▪ He wants to work in pictures.
▪ He is the picture of his father. [=he looks just like his father]
b : a perfect example of something
▪ She is the picture of health. [=she looks very healthy]
a picture is worth a thousand words — see 1worth
(as) pretty as a picture — see 1pretty
keep someone in the picture or put someone in the picture
chiefly Brit : to give someone the information that is needed to understand something
▪ Teachers meet regularly with parents to keep them in the picture about their child's progress. ▪ I'll put you in the picture as soon as a final decision has been made.
▪ Teachers meet regularly with parents to keep them in the picture about their child's progress. ▪ I'll put you in the picture as soon as a final decision has been made.
paint/draw a picture of
: to create an idea or understanding of something or someone through words, facts, etc.
▪ The author paints a disturbing picture of life in the camp. ▪ These statistics paint a clear picture of how the population is aging.
▪ The author paints a disturbing picture of life in the camp. ▪ These statistics paint a clear picture of how the population is aging.
