noun
lens
lehnz
noun
1
A curved piece of glass or plastic that bends light to focus or spread it out, used in glasses, cameras, and telescopes.
"She wiped a smudge off the camera lens before taking the photo."
"His new glasses have thinner lenses than his old pair."
2
The clear part inside the eye that focuses light onto the retina.
"Cataracts happen when the lens of the eye becomes cloudy."
3
A particular way of looking at or interpreting something.
"The documentary examines the war through the lens of ordinary soldiers."
How to Use Lens
Learner’s notesIn plain EnglishA curved piece of glass that focuses light — in a camera, glasses, telescope, or the eye — or, figuratively, a particular angle of viewing something.
Common pairings
contact lens
camera lens
through the lens of
wide-angle lens
Word Forms
lensed past tense, lenses plural, lens plural, lentes plural, lenses singular
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Etymology
From Latin lēns, "lentil" — glass lenses were named for their lentil-like shape.