A grayscale image is a type of digital image that contains only shades of gray, ranging from black to white. Unlike color images, which use multiple colors to represent a scene, grayscale images simplify the visual information by focusing solely on intensity. Each pixel in a grayscale image is represented by a single value that indicates its brightness. Grayscale images are commonly used in various applications, including photography, medical imaging, and computer vision. They are often preferred for tasks like edge detection and image analysis because they reduce complexity and highlight important features without the distraction of color.