pictures

The word “pictures” means the cinema, or a trip to see a film (chiefly British, slightly dated). In plain terms, an informal British way of referring to the cinema.

“Pictures” is pronounced PIHK-shuhz (/ˈpɪk.(t)ʃɚz/ in IPA).

Here is “pictures” used in a sentence: “We're going to the pictures on Friday night.”

“Pictures” is a noun.

“Pictures” is a very common word in modern English.

"Going to the pictures" is a chiefly British expression meaning going to the cinema to watch a film. It dates from the era of "moving pictures" and now sounds slightly old-fashioned. Younger speakers tend to say "the cinema" or "the movies," but the phrase is still widely understood.

In the sense of the cinema, "the pictures" is British and somewhat dated. Americans say "the movies" instead. Both phrases come from early cinema, when films were called "moving pictures." The British "pictures" and American "movies" are direct equivalents for a trip out to watch a film.

They mean the same thing: going out to watch a film at the cinema. "The pictures" is the traditional British phrase, now slightly dated, while "the movies" is the American equivalent. The choice between them is a matter of regional dialect rather than any difference in meaning.