For an image the term monochrome is essentially black-and-white, but the term may be preferred, to indicate that green-and-white, green-and-black, etc., are not excluded.

In computing, monochrome has two meanings: it can mean having only one color which is either on or off, or also allowing shades of gray. Thus it has the same ambiguity as the term black-and-white.

A monochrome computer display is capable of displaying only a single color, often green or white, and often also shades of gray (or shades of green, etc.).

The word monochromatic comes from the two Greek words mono (meaning "one"), and chroma (χρωμα, meaning "surface" or "the colour of the skin").