JPEG
What is the opposite of JPEG? Here is what we hold, with its meaning and related words.
Noun — A widely used format for storing photographs, which shrinks the file by discarding fine detail the eye is unlikely to notice.
How to use JPEG
The word patterns that sound natural to a native speaker.
save as a JPEG
JPEG compression
JPEG artefacts
high-quality JPEG
Everyday word. Written in capitals; "jpeg" in lower case appears informally.
Etymology
An acronym of Joint Photographic Experts Group, the standards committee whose image-compression standard the format implements.
Full origin of JPEG →Frequently asked questions
What is the difference between JPEG and JPG?
There is none — they are two spellings of the same format. Older versions of Windows allowed only three characters after the dot in a filename, so .jpeg was shortened to .jpg, and both extensions survive today.
What is the difference between JPEG and PNG?
JPEG uses lossy compression, meaning it throws away some image data to make the file smaller, which suits photographs with lots of gradual colour changes. PNG is lossless and keeps every pixel exactly, which suits logos, screenshots and diagrams with sharp edges or flat colour. PNG also supports transparency, while ordinary JPEG does not.
Why do JPEGs look worse each time they are saved?
Because the compression is lossy, each save discards a little more detail. Re-saving the same image repeatedly compounds those losses and produces the blocky, smeared look often called JPEG artefacts.
