Meaning & use
pictogram
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Meanings
nouncountable
A simple picture or symbol that stands for a word, object or idea, such as on a sign.
Grammar: Has a plural: a pictogram, many pictograms.
Patterns
- a pictogram of something
- a pictogram for something
The restroom door had a pictogram of a person in a skirt.
Airports use pictograms so travelers can understand signs in any language.
nouncountablemathematics
A chart that uses small pictures to show amounts of data.
Grammar: Also called a pictograph; each picture stands for a set number of items.
The class made a pictogram showing how many pets each pupil owns.
In the pictogram, one apple stood for five students.
Word forms
| plural | pictograms |
|---|
Common combinations
- use a pictogram
- The sign uses a pictogram of a cup.
- warning pictogram
- The bottle has a warning pictogram.
- draw a pictogram
- Draw a pictogram to show the survey.
- ancient pictograms
- Archaeologists found ancient pictograms on the wall.
Synonyms and how they differ
- pictograph
- Means the same, and is more common for the data-chart sense.
- icon
- Is mostly used for small symbols on screens.
- symbol
- Is broader and need not look like the thing it stands for.
Word family
- pictographic adjective
- made up of picture symbols
- pictograph noun
- another word for pictogram
Commonly confused: pictogram or ideogram?
pictogram vs ideogram
An ideogram stands for an idea, not necessarily by picturing an object; a pictogram looks like what it shows.
Practice
Which is the best example of a pictogram?
Choose one answer.
A pictogram is a simple picture that stands for an idea. The other options use words, not pictures.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “pictogram”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.