Pictionary Dictionary

This dictionary contains the 2,000 most common English nouns (and occasional adjectives and verbs), together with a suggested drawing of each. The drawings are quick and easy. Not true-to-life realism; just a few lines; each can be drawn in a few seconds.

There's a certain set of things that you need to be able to draw in order to play Pictionary (or "Win, Lose, or Draw") successfully. [for definition see below]

Most people can draw water (wavy lines), or a person, or the outline of the United States. These are among the most basic shapes you need. But what if you had to draw a pump? A dam? Oil? These are objects that you can't just draw by memory or by concatenating polygons off the top of your head. You really have to know which lines and curves must be put together to give the representation of these objects. The answer might not be obvious. For example, you might not think of drawing an oil well to represent oil, and instead spend minutes trying to draw an amorphous liquid in a salad-dressing container ... unless you have read The Pictionary Dictionary.

You will enjoy your improved ability to express yourself. And win every Pictionary game you play, too.

(Pictionary is a board game where you are given a word or phrase, e.g. "Time flies" or "Busy signal" or "George Washington" or "Smoke Detector", and you have 1 minute to draw it so that your partner can guess what it is. You can use all the paper you want, but you can only draw; you can't say anything. Your partner yells out guesses throughout.)

Thank you.