What Is a Profile Picture? Meaning & Examples

Meaning 1：Social media photo (Profile Picture)

Profile Picture 🔊

/ˈproʊfaɪl ˈpɪktʃər/

A small photo that you put on your social media account or other online profiles to show who you are.

Social media photo 🔊

➕

/ˈsoʊʃəl ˈmiːdiə ˈfoʊtoʊ/

A small photo representing a user on social media or other online platforms.

📁 Category：Technological Inventions 🔖 Level：Beginner

📘 Details & Usage

📖 Root Explanation

Profile from Italian 'profilo' (outline) and picture from Latin 'pictura' (painting).

💡 Mnemonic

Imagine your face in a 'pro-file' file: your picture is the first thing people see.

📖 Example

I changed my profile picture to a photo from my recent hiking trip in the mountains. 🔊 I changed my profile picture to a photo from my recent hiking trip in the mountains.

🔗 Collocations

update your profile picture – replace your current profile picture with a new one

choose a profile picture – select an image for your online profile

profile picture icon – the small graphic representing the profile picture on a website

🔄 Synonyms

avatar (n.) – A digital image representing a user in online platforms, often used in games or forums.

profile photo (n.) – Another term for profile picture.

user image (n.) – A general term for an image associated with a user account.

🌱 Derivatives

profile pic (n.) – Shortened, informal version of profile picture.

📖 Cultural Story

With the rise of social media in the 2000s, users began uploading personal photos to represent their identity online, coining the term 'profile picture'.