imaging

1. 1
   noununcountable

   The production of pictures that reveal normally unseen features of something, especially parts of the body.

   Modern imaging lets radiologists detect tumors long before any symptoms appear.

   The clinic invested in advanced imaging equipment for its cardiac patients.

   Similarscanning

   Note

   Medicine and the sciences use the word mostly as a mass noun, and it often stands before another noun, as in imaging equipment or imaging techniques. A plural, imagings, does exist, but the countable use is the exception. Keep it apart from the mental-imagery technique, which has the same spelling: a radiologist's imaging produces a picture you can look at, while a psychologist's happens in the mind.

2. 2
   verb

   Present participle of image.

   Researchers are imaging the comet as it passes near the sun.

   The lab is imaging brain tissue at very high resolution.

   Note

   The -ing form drops the final e of image. It carries every sense of the verb, from portraying or mirroring something to the computing use, where imaging a drive means making a complete backup copy of it. As a gerund it shades easily into the noun for scientific picturing, so context decides whether imaging is an action in progress or the name of a practice.

   The IT team is imaging every laptop before the upgrade.

   She spent the night imaging the server's disks in case the update failed.

3. 3
   noununcountable

   The practice of using mental pictures to change how a person perceives things or behaves.

   Sports psychologists rely on imaging to help athletes rehearse winning performances mentally.

   Guided imaging can reduce anxiety by replacing fearful thoughts with calming scenes.

   Similarvisualization, imagery

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