¹lens

noun \ˈlenz\

: a clear curved piece of glass or plastic that is used in eyeglasses, cameras, telescopes, etc., to make things look clearer, smaller, or bigger

: the clear part of the eye that focuses light to form clear images

Full Definition of LENS

a : a piece of transparent material (as glass) that has two opposite regular surfaces either both curved or one curved and the other plane and that is used either singly or combined in an optical instrument for forming an image by focusing rays of light

b : a combination of two or more simple lenses

c : a piece of glass or plastic used (as in safety goggles or sunglasses) to protect the eye

: a device for directing or focusing radiation other than light (as sound waves, radio microwaves, or electrons)

: something shaped like a biconvex optical lens <lens of sandstone>

: a highly transparent biconvex lens-shaped or nearly spherical body in the eye that focuses light rays (as upon the retina) — see eye illustration

: something that facilitates and influences perception, comprehension, or evaluation <viewing the current legal battle … through partisan lenses — New Republic>

: gravitational lens

— lensed \ˈlenzd\ adjective

— lens·less \ˈlenz-ləs\ adjective

See lens defined for English-language learners

See lens defined for kids

Origin of LENS

New Latin lent-, lens, from Latin, lentil; from its shape

First Known Use: 1673

Other Physics Terms

amplitude, centrifugal, centripetal, convection, gradient, hysteresis, kinetic, lase, quantum

Rhymes with LENS

cleanse, gens

²lens

verb

Definition of LENS

transitive verb

: to make a motion picture of : film

First Known Use of LENS

1942

Lens

geographical name \ˈläⁿs\

Definition of LENS

city N France SW of Lille pop 36,192

LENS[1] Defined for Kids

lens

noun \ˈlenz\

Definition of LENS for Kids

: a clear curved piece of material (as glass) used to bend the rays of light to form an image

: a clear part of the eye behind the pupil and iris that focuses rays of light on the retina to form clear images

Medical Dictionary

lens

noun

Medical Definition of LENS

: a curved piece of glass or plastic used singly or combined in eyeglasses or an optical instrument (as a microscope) for forming an image by focusing rays of light

: a device for directing or focusing radiation other than light (as sound waves, radio microwaves, or electrons)

: a highly transparent biconvex lens-shaped or nearly spherical body in the eye that focuses light rays entering the eye typically onto the retina, lies immediately behind the pupil, is made up of slender curved rod-shaped ectodermal cells in concentric lamellae surrounded by a tenuous mesoblastic capsule, and alters its focal length by becoming more or less spherical in response to the action of the ciliary muscle on a peripheral suspensory ligament

—lensed adjective

—lens·less adjective