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ENGLISH · A WORD WITH POSSIBILITIES

pixel.

One of the tiny dots that make up the representation of an image in a computer's memory.

5 characters2 syllables approx.English language

Meaning & usage

noun/ˈpɪk.səl//ˈpɪk.sɛl/
  1. One of the tiny dots that make up the representation of an image in a computer's memory.

  2. One of the squares that make up a work of pixel art or a zoomed-in image in a computer.

  3. A unit of measure used in screen displays, resolutions, and similar visual media that represents either linear measure or area.

Where this word comes from

pix (“pictures”), + el(ement); often taken to be a blend of “picture” and “element”. The ⟨x⟩ stems from the abbreviation pics being sometimes also written as pix, which has been in use since the 1880s. First attested in 1965.

verb/ˈpɪk.səl//ˈpɪk.sɛl/
  1. To create computer graphics by editing individual pixels.

Where this word comes from

pix (“pictures”), + el(ement); often taken to be a blend of “picture” and “element”. The ⟨x⟩ stems from the abbreviation pics being sometimes also written as pix, which has been in use since the 1880s. First attested in 1965.

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Definitions, grammatical labels, IPA, etymology and examples: Wiktionary contributors, extracted by Kaikki / Wiktextract. Adapted under CC BY-SA 4.0. Selected fields and authored examples are shown; third-party quotations and audio are omitted. See contributor history.

Last enriched 2026-09-10. Definitions are in English. Romanizations are shown when supplied by the source; syllable estimates are omitted for unsupported scripts.