Describing a digital image or graphic that is created by assigning color values to individual pixels arranged in a grid, rather than using mathematical formulas like vector graphics.
From 'bit' (binary digit) and 'map' (to assign values to a grid), with the past participle '-ed' suffix. The term emerged in computer graphics in the 1970s-80s as raster graphics became standard.
Bitmapped images like JPEGs and PNGs are made of millions of tiny colored dots—zoom in far enough and you see the dots; vector graphics like PDFs use mathematical equations, so they scale infinitely without losing quality.
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