panorama

/pænəˈræmə/

/pænəˈrɑmə/

Other forms: panoramas

A panorama is a wide, unbroken view, or a picture of one. Pay more for your hotel room in Hawaii and you'll likely get a balcony with a picture perfect panorama of the ocean.

The noun panorama was coined in 1789 by the inventor and artist Robert Barker to describe “a complete view.” These days you can click the panorama setting on your camera to capture an extra wide vista or scene. Don’t confuse panorama with diorama: They sound similar, but remember that a panorama is the view and a diorama is the viewing device.

Definitions of panorama

1. noun

   the visual percept of a region
   synonyms: aspect, prospect, scene, view, vista

   types:

   background, ground

   the part of a scene (or picture) that lies behind objects in the foreground

   coast

   the area within view

   exposure

   aspect resulting from the direction a building or window faces

   foreground

   the part of a scene that is near the viewer

   glimpse

   a brief or incomplete view

   middle distance

   the part of a scene between the foreground and the background

   side view

   a view from the side of something

   tableau

   any dramatic scene

   profile

   an outline of something (especially a human face as seen from one side)

   type of:

   visual image, visual percept

   a percept that arises from the eyes; an image in the visual system
2. noun

   a picture (or series of pictures) representing a continuous scene
   synonyms: cyclorama, diorama

   type of:

   icon, ikon, image, picture

   a visual representation (of an object or scene or person or abstraction) produced on a surface