magnifying glass

American  

noun

magnifying glasses plural

1. a lens that produces an enlarged image of an object.

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magnifying glass British  

noun

1. a convex lens used to produce an enlarged image of an object

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Other Word Forms

Noun Inflected Forms

• magnifying glasses
  plural

Etymology

Origin of magnifying glass

First recorded in 1655–65

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

magnifying glass

Ternus was on the road at the supplier’s facility, and sometime after midnight he pulled out a magnifying glass to count the circles, finding that the supplier had gotten it wrong, putting in 35 grooves.

From Barron's ● Apr. 22, 2026

Do you really think that foreign governments are at this point, with a magnifying glass, looking at our markets and thinking something might be about to happen?

From Slate ● Mar. 31, 2026

Says Merritt, “You’re going to want to get your magnifying glass to look at some of this stuff.”

From Los Angeles Times ● May 13, 2025

Pattern maker Mar Marcote has been with the business 42 years and still uses a magnifying glass to examine each item of clothing before it finally goes into production.

From BBC ● May 8, 2025

In the small slide, even with the magnifying glass, Mirjam was barely more than a smudge of sky blue toward the bottom of the frame.

From "Girl in the Blue Coat" by Monica Hesse