av ‧ a ‧ tar /ˈævətɑː $ -tɑːr/ BrE AmE noun [countable]
[ Date: 1700-1800 ; Language: Sanskrit ; Origin: avatara 'descent' , from avatarati 'he or she comes down' ]
1 . literary a person or animal who is really a god in human or animal form
2 . formal a person who represents an idea or quality
3 . a picture of a person or animal that represents you on a computer screen, for example in some ↑ chat room s or when you are playing games over the Internet