picture

/ˈpɪk.(t)ʃə/

//ˈpɪk.(t)ʃə// noun

By · According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA) ·

"picture" is a 7-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“picture” is in the everyday core of English, ranked #777 in English word frequency and used as a noun.

#777
frequency rank, English
7
letters
10
tracked misspellings
4
confusable pairs

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - A representation of anything (as a person, a landscape, a building) upon canvas, paper, or other surface, by drawing, painting, printing, photography, etc.

Visual similarity to commonly confused words

How many letter changes separate each confused pair (Levenshtein distance, normalized).

picture vs posture
71% similar
picture vs pictures
88% similar
picture vs puncture
75% similar

Source: PlainSpell confusable corpus (Wiktionary, CC BY-SA).

Key facts for picture
PropertyValue
Headwordpicture
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechNoun
IPA/ˈpɪk.(t)ʃə/
Letters7
Frequency rank#777
Misspellings tracked10
Confusable pairs4
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Where “picture” sits in English frequency

Every-word frequency runs from the handful of words we use constantly (left) to the long tail used once in a blue moon (right). picture lands here:

#1#100#1K#10K#100K
← used constantlyrarely used →

Scale is logarithmic (each tick is 10× rarer). Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

The English entry for picture is 7 letters long, classified as a noun, and transcribed in the International Phonetic Alphabet as /ˈpɪk.(t)ʃə/. Corpus data places it at rank #777 in overall English word frequency, putting it firmly in the everyday core of the language. Wiktionary records 13 distinct senses for this headword, so context determines which meaning a reader should apply.

Our generated misspelling index lists 10 likely wrong-spelling variants for picture, with forms such as "ipcture", "pciture", and "piccture". Every one of these variants traces to a single-character edit -- an added or dropped letter, a swapped consonant, or a vowel swap -- the kind of slip a spell-checker is built to catch. It also participates in 4 confusable-pair relationships, "posture", "pictures", "puncture", and more, since the words sound or look close enough that writers reach for the wrong one mid-sentence.

Etymologically, the entry records: From Middle English pycture, from Old French picture, itself from Latin pictūra (“the art of painting, a painting”), from pingō (“to paint”). Doublet of pictura. The correct English form is picture, spelled P-I-C-T-U-R-E.

Definition

  1. 1
    A representation of anything (as a person, a landscape, a building) upon canvas, paper, or other surface, by drawing, painting, printing, photography, etc.
  2. 2
    An image; a representation as in the imagination.
  3. 3
    A painting.
  4. 4
    A photograph.
  5. 5
    A motion picture.
  6. 6
    ("the pictures") Cinema (as a form of entertainment).
  7. 7
    A paragon, a perfect example or specimen (of a category).
  8. 8
    An attractive sight.
  9. 9
    The art of painting; representation by painting.
  10. 10
    A figure; a model.
  11. 11
    Situation.
  12. 12
    A sample of an illegal drug.
  13. 13
    A format string in the COBOL programming language.

Etymology

From Middle English pycture, from Old French picture, itself from Latin pictūra (“the art of painting, a painting”), from pingō (“to paint”). Doublet of pictura.

Synonyms

imagepicture

This word in other languages

imagen(Español)image(Français)Bild(Deutsch)figura(Português)

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as: ipcture,pciture,piccture,pictrue,pictture,pictuer,picturre,picutre,pitcure,ppicture

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of picture - measured in single-character edits (insert, delete, or substitute a letter). Larger bars are easier to catch; one-edit slips are the sneakiest.

ipcture2pciture2piccture1pictrue2pictture1pictuer2picturre1picutre2
Edit distance from "picture"

Definitions, pronunciation, and etymology for this entry are drawn from Wiktionary via the kaikki.org structured extract (CC BY-SA); frequency ordering uses the FrequencyWords open word-frequency list (2018 English corpus, MIT). See the methodology for how each field is sourced and updated.

Frequently Asked Questions

How do you spell "picture"?
"picture" is spelled P-I-C-T-U-R-E. The IPA pronunciation is /ˈpɪk.(t)ʃə/.
What does "picture" mean?
As a noun, "picture" means: A representation of anything (as a person, a landscape, a building) upon canvas, paper, or other surface, by drawing, painting, printing, photography, etc.
What words are commonly confused with "picture"?
"picture" is commonly confused with "posture", "pictures", "puncture". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
How do you pronounce "picture"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "picture" is /ˈpɪk.(t)ʃə/. Click the speaker icon on the pronunciation badge above to hear it spoken aloud where audio is available.
What is the origin of the word "picture"?
From Middle English pycture, from Old French picture, itself from Latin pictūra (“the art of painting, a painting”), from pingō (“to paint”). Doublet of pictura. See the full etymology section above for more details.
Is PlainSpell free to use?
Yes, PlainSpell is a completely free word reference. You can look up definitions, pronunciations, confusable pairs, homophones, and spelling corrections across 5 languages without any sign-up or subscription.

Using “picture”

The practical upshot for anyone who landed here from a spell-check.

  • The one correct English spelling is P-I-C-T-U-R-E - every other letter order is a misspelling in standard orthography.
  • Say it as /ˈpɪk.(t)ʃə/ (IPA); tap the speaker on the pronunciation badge to hear it where audio exists.
  • Don't mix it up with “posture” - see the side-by-side comparison. picture vs posture
  • Browse more English words and confusable pairs in the same reference. English words
Data Source

Wiktionary (via kaikki.org), licensed under CC BY-SA & GFDL. Word ordering uses an open word-frequency list; misspelling variants are generated by edit-distance from the correct headword.

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list FrequencyWords open word-frequency list