Macmillan Dictionary

Did you know?

Click any word in a definition or example to find the entry for that word

image

 - definition
 
 
 
Close

What are red words?

90% of the time, speakers of English use just 7,500 words in speech and writing. These words appear in red, and are graded with stars. One-star words are frequent, two-star words are more frequent, and three-star words are the most frequent.

Close

Thesaurus

The thesaurus of synonyms and related words is fully integrated into the dictionary entries. Click on the T button in an entry to review the synonyms and related words for that meaning.

more
noun American English pronunciation: image /ˈɪmɪdʒ/ 
Word Forms
Close
singularimage
pluralimages
Other entries for this word
  1. 1
    [countable/uncountable] an opinion that people have about someone or something, which may not be a true one
    image of:

    We have an image of the U.S. as a very rich country.

    shake off/get away from/shed an image:

    The company needs to shake off its outdated image.

    Thesaurus entry for this meaning of image
    1. a.
      the opinion of yourself, your company, or your community that you deliberately try to create in the minds of other people
      project/present/promote an image:

      They present an image of themselves as experts in this area.

      positive/negative image:

      The charity is trying to promote positive images of people with disabilities.

      image of:

      media images of young women

      Thesaurus entry for this meaning of image
  2. 2
    [countable] the picture that you see on a computer or television screen, or in a movie theater

    the flickering black-and-white images on the first movie screens

    software for manipulating images after you have scanned them

    Thesaurus entry for this meaning of image
    1. a.
      what you see when you look in a mirror

      Mrs. Carson was peering closely at her own image in the mirror.

      Thesaurus entry for this meaning of image
    2. b.
      a photograph, painting, or other work of art that represents a person or thing

      Images of strange-looking animals are carved into the rocks.

      Thesaurus entry for this meaning of image
    3. c.
      a picture or idea of something in your mind

      the strong visual images of the Catholic church

      conjure up an image (=create an image):

      Their name conjures up images of shiny new office buildings.

      mental image:

      I had a sudden mental image of Robert waiting for me with flowers.

      Thesaurus entry for this meaning of image
  3. 3
    [countable] literature a description of something that uses language or combines ideas in an interesting way

    The book paints an image of the human being as alone in a crowded world.

    Thesaurus entry for this meaning of image

phrase

See also

This is the American English definition of image. View British English definition of image.

Change your default dictionary and thesaurus to British English.

View the pronunciation for image.

 

caxirola

a percussion instrument used by football fans which makes a rattling sound when shaken

BuzzWord Article

Word of the Day

glean

to learn small pieces of information by asking questions or watching or listening carefully

Open Dictionary

pierce the corporate veil

… the decision to treat the rights and duties of a company as being the same as the rights and duties of its shareholders

add a word

Blog

A must for anyone with an interest in the changing face of language. The Macmillan Dictionary blog explores English as it is spoken around the world today.

global English and language change from our blog