Definition

1. Noun:
   • A cathode-ray tube in a television receiver; translates the received signal into a picture on a luminescent screen: A "picture tube" is the main component in older television sets and computer monitors that creates the visible image. It is a large, sealed glass vacuum tube that uses a beam of electrons to illuminate phosphors on a screen.

Usage Examples

• Noun:
  • The old television stopped working because its picture tube burned out.
  • Before flat screens, every TV contained a heavy, bulky picture tube.

Advanced Usage

• Technical Context: The term is primarily used in electronics, engineering, and repair contexts related to older display technology.
  • The technician specialized in repairing vintage sets and often had to source replacement picture tubes.

Variants and Related Words

• CRT (Cathode-Ray Tube): This is the technical, more general term for the same device. "Picture tube" is a common name for a CRT used specifically in a television.
  • CRT monitors were once the standard for desktop computers.
• Kinescope: An older, less common synonym for a television picture tube.
• Screen: While "screen" can refer to the viewing surface of any display, in the context of an old TV, it is the front part of the picture tube.

Synonyms

• Cathode-ray tube (CRT): The full technical term.
• Television tube: A less formal synonym.

Related Phrases

• "To have a weak picture tube": An idiom describing an old television that is failing or producing a poor-quality image.
  • That set in the basement has a weak picture tube; the image is very dim.

Noun

1. a cathode-ray tube in a television receiver; translates the received signal into a picture on a luminescent screen