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lens

American  
[lenz] / lɛnz /

noun

plural

lenses

  1. a piece of transparent substance, usually glass, having two opposite surfaces either both curved or one curved and one plane, used in an optical device in changing the convergence of light rays, as for magnification, or in correcting defects of vision.

  2. a combination of such pieces.

  3. some analogous device, as for affecting sound waves, electromagnetic radiation, or streams of electrons.

  4. Anatomy. crystalline lens.

  5. Geology. a body of rock or ore that is thick in the middle and thinner toward the edges, similar in shape to a biconvex lens.

verb (used with object)

  1. Movies. to film (a motion picture).

Lens 1 British  
/ lɑ̃, lenz /

noun

  1. an industrial town in N France, in the Pas de Calais department; badly damaged in both World Wars. Pop: 36 206 (1999)

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012
lens 2 British  
/ lɛnz /

noun

  1. a piece of glass or other transparent material, used to converge or diverge transmitted light and form optical images

  2. Also called: compound lens.  a combination of such lenses for forming images or concentrating a beam of light

  3. a device that diverges or converges a beam of electromagnetic radiation, sound, or particles See electron lens

  4. anatomy See crystalline lens

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012
lens Scientific  
/ lĕnz /

  1. A transparent structure behind the iris of the eye that focuses light entering the eye on the retina.

    1. A piece of glass or plastic shaped so as to focus or spread light rays that pass through it, often for the purpose of forming an image.

    2. A combination of two or more such lenses, as in a camera or telescope.

  3. A device that causes radiation to converge or diverge by an action analogous to that of an optical lens. The system of electric fields used to focus electron beams in electron microscopes is an example of a lens.

lens 1 Cultural  

  1. A piece of transparent material, such as glass, that forms an image from the rays of light passing through it. (See focal length, refraction, and telescope.)

lens 2 Cultural  

  1. A clear, almost spherical structure located just behind the pupil of the eye. The lens focuses waves of light on the retina.

Other Word Forms

  • lensless adjective
  • lenslike adjective
  • unlensed adjective

Etymology

Origin of lens

First recorded in 1685–95; from New Latin, special use of Latin lēns “a lentil” (from its shape); lentil

Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

“I hope my work can reflect the times we’re in through a lens of color,” he said, “and the flora and fauna of L.A.”

From Los Angeles Times

Dury said it was a "battle against time" to get the picture, which he captured using a wide lens.

From BBC

The Witch’s Cottage, she says, is reflective of viewing the world through a magical lens.

From Los Angeles Times

So he’s giving it a new lens to look at what bullying looks like for kids today.

From Los Angeles Times

The rooms that looked spacious on the website, thanks to photos apparently taken with a fish-eye lens, were cramped.

From The Wall Street Journal

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.