lens

The word “lens” means a curved piece of glass or plastic that bends light to focus or spread it out, used in glasses, cameras, and telescopes. In plain terms, a curved piece of glass that focuses light — in a camera, glasses, telescope, or the eye — or, figuratively, a particular angle of viewing something.

“Lens” is pronounced lehnz (/lɛnz/ in IPA).

Here is “lens” used in a sentence: “She wiped a smudge off the camera lens before taking the photo.”

“Lens” is a noun.

The word “lens” comes from Latin. From Latin lēns, "lentil" — glass lenses were named for their lentil-like shape.

“Lens” is a fairly common word in modern English.

“Lens” has 3 distinct senses listed in this dictionary. The most common is: a curved piece of glass or plastic that bends light to focus or spread it out, used in glasses, cameras, and telescopes.

The correct singular spelling is "lens," and the plural is "lenses." "Lense" is a common misspelling and is not accepted in standard English.

Both are lenses that bend light, but a convex lens curves outward and brings light rays together to a focus, while a concave lens curves inward and spreads light rays apart. Convex lenses are used to magnify, and concave lenses to diverge light.

A lens is a curved piece of glass or plastic that bends light passing through it to focus or spread it. A mirror reflects light off its surface rather than letting it pass through, so a lens transmits light while a mirror bounces it back.

A camera lens is a curved piece of glass or plastic that focuses light onto film or a sensor. The lens of the eye is the clear part inside the eye that focuses light onto the retina, working in a similar way but as living tissue.