proverb · Words worth keeping
A picture is worth a thousand words.
A picture is worth a thousand words.
Historical period not yet established
Understand the thought
Meaning in plain English
The saying values a picture at a thousand words. It emphasises how an image can communicate much at once.
What the words are saying
The numerical comparison is emphasis rather than a measured exchange. A useful application asks what an image makes clear and what still needs a verbal explanation. Pictures can omit context or invite different readings, so the phrase does not establish that images always communicate better.
Everyday example
A presenter pairs a diagram with a short explanation of the relationship it illustrates.
When to use it
Use it to discuss what visual communication adds to an explanation.
What it does not mean
The number is figurative and no universal superiority of pictures is verified.
Agent-assisted editorial interpretation. This explains the words; it does not by itself verify their author or earliest origin.
Attribution & collection notes
- Author or tradition
- Traditional
Attribution: traditional - Country attributed
United States
A country attribution does not establish the earliest origin.- Historical period
- Historical period not yet established
No sufficiently supported historical placement has been established. Import and download dates are not treated as composition dates. - Recorded source
- Contributor-provided proverb reference
Supplied reference A; unit 391; PDF page 59
A collection's publication date can be later than the words it records.