picky /p I ki/ (pickier , pickiest ) ADJ Someone who is picky is difficult to please and only likes a small range of things. [INFORMAL , DISAPPROVAL ] □ [+ about ] Some people are very picky about who they choose to share their lives with.
pic|nic /p I kn I k/ (picnics , picnicking , picnicked )
1 N‑COUNT When people have a picnic , they eat a meal out of doors, usually in a field or a forest, or at the beach. □ We're going on a picnic tomorrow. □ We'll take a picnic lunch.
2 VERB When people picnic somewhere, they have a picnic. □ [V ] Afterwards, we picnicked on the riverbank. □ [V -ing] …such a perfect day for picnicking. ● pic|nick|er (picnickers ) N‑COUNT □ …fires started by careless picnickers.
3 PHRASE If you say that an experience, task, or activity is no picnic , you mean that it is quite difficult or unpleasant. [INFORMAL ] □ Emigrating is no picnic.
pic|to|gram /p I ktəgræm/ (pictograms ) or pictograph /p I ktəgrɑːf, -græf/ N‑COUNT A pictogram is a simple drawing that represents something. Pictograms were used as the earliest form of writing. □ [+ of ] …a pictogram of a pine tree.
pic|to|rial /p I ktɔː riəl/ ADJ [usu ADJ n] Pictorial means using or relating to pictures. □ …a pictorial history of the Special Air Service. ● pic|to|ri|al|ly ADV □ Each section is explained pictorially.
pic|ture ◆◆◇ /p I ktʃə r / (pictures , picturing , pictured )
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. □ [+ of ] A picture of Rory O'Moore hangs in the dining room at Kildangan.
2 N‑COUNT A picture is a photograph. □ [+ of ] The tourists have nothing to do but take pictures of each other.
3 N‑COUNT [usu pl] Television pictures are the scenes which you see on a television screen. □ [+ of ] …heartrending television pictures of human suffering.
4 VERB [usu passive] To be pictured somewhere, for example in a newspaper or magazine, means to appear in a photograph or picture. □ [be V -ed] The golfer is pictured on many of the front pages, kissing his trophy as he holds it aloft. □ [be V -ed v-ing] …a woman who claimed she had been pictured dancing with a celebrity in Stringfellows nightclub. □ [V -ed] The rattan and wrought-iron chair pictured here costs £125.
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 , OLD-FASHIONED ] □ 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. □ [+ of ] 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. □ [V n prep] He pictured her with long black braided hair. □ [V n v-ing] He pictured Claire sitting out in the car, waiting for him. □ [V n] I tried to picture the place, but could not. [Also V n adj]
9 N‑COUNT [usu sing] A picture of something is a description of it or an indication of what it is like. □ [+ of ] 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. □ It's a similar picture across the border in Ethiopia.
11 PHRASE If you get the picture , you understand the situation, especially one which someone is describing to you. □ Luke never tells you the whole story, but you always get the picture.
12 PHRASE 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. □ Meyerson is back in the picture after disappearing in July.
13 PHRASE 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. □ [+ of ] We found her standing on a chair, the picture of terror, screaming hysterically.
14 PHRASE If you put someone in the picture , you tell them about a situation which they need to know about. □ Has Inspector Fayard put you in the picture?
pi c|ture book (picture books ) also picture-book N‑COUNT A picture book is a book with a lot of pictures and not much writing. Many picture books are intended for children.
pi c|ture li |brary (picture libraries ) N‑COUNT [oft in names] 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.
pi c|ture mes|sag|ing N‑UNCOUNT [oft N n] Picture messaging is the sending of photographs or pictures from one mobile phone to another. □ …picture messaging on camera phones. □ …a picture messaging service.
pi c|ture po st|card (picture postcards ) 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 [ADJ n] You can use picture postcard to describe a place that is very attractive. □ …picture-postcard Normandy villages.