mirror image
Americannoun
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an image of an object, plan, person, etc., as it would appear if viewed in a mirror, with right and left reversed.
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an object having a spatial arrangement that corresponds to that of another object except that the right-to-left sense on one object corresponds to the left-to-right sense on the other.
noun
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an image as observed in a mirror
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an object that corresponds to another object in the same way as it would correspond to its image in a mirror
Etymology
Origin of mirror image
First recorded in 1880–85
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.
Because the mirror image versions of the same molecule interact differently with the coatings, they move through the tubes at different speeds, allowing the instrument to separate them.
From Science Daily ● Jul. 9, 2026
His version of American expansionism is thus a kind of mirror image of last 250 years of history.
From BBC ● Jul. 4, 2026
The careers most at risk are the mirror image: roles built on processing information at scale without deep specialization.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 10, 2026
It was a mirror image of recent trading patterns in which a few tech companies powered the S&P 500 higher.
From Barron's ● May 12, 2026
In a mirror image of the past, the captured 8-Deer was forced to bow to 4-Wind.
From "1491" by Charles C. Mann
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.
