The definition of pixel:
A pixel (short for picture element, using the common abbreviation "pix" for "pictures") is a single point in a graphic image. Each such information element is not really a dot, nor a square, but an abstract sample. With care, pixels in an image can be reproduced at any size without the appearance of visible dots or squares; but in many contexts, they are reproduced as dots or squares and can be visibly distinct when not fine enough. The intensity of each pixel is variable; in color systems, each pixel has typically three or four dimensions of variability such as red, green, and blue, or cyan, magenta, yellow, and black.
To simplify, a pixel is a dot in an image, the higher the pixel or in this case megapixel rating, the higher the resolution of the picture. In other words more dots per square inch, etc.
The higher the megapixel rating the higher the picture resolutions.
A megapixel definition:
A megapixel is 1 million pixels, and is a term used not only for the number of pixels in an image, but also to express the number of sensor elements of digital cameras or the number of display elements of digital displays. For example, a camera with an array of 2048×1536 sensor elements is commonly said to have "3.1 megapixels" (2048 × 1536 = 3,145,728).
Hope this helps!