prism

American  

[priz-uhm] / ˈprɪz əm /

noun

1. Optics. a transparent solid body, often having triangular bases, used for dispersing light into a spectrum or for reflecting rays of light.

2. Geometry. a solid having bases or ends that are parallel, congruent polygons and sides that are parallelograms.

3. Crystallography. a form having faces parallel to the vertical axis and intersecting the horizontal axes.

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prism British  

/ ˈprɪzəm /

noun

1. a transparent polygonal solid, often having triangular ends and rectangular sides, for dispersing light into a spectrum or for reflecting and deviating light. They are used in spectroscopes, binoculars, periscopes, etc

2. a form of crystal with faces parallel to the vertical axis

3. maths a polyhedron having parallel, polygonal, and congruent bases and sides that are parallelograms

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prism Scientific  

/ prĭz′əm /

1. A geometric solid whose bases are congruent polygons lying in parallel planes and whose sides are parallelograms.

2. A solid of this type, often made of glass with triangular ends, used to disperse light and break it up into a spectrum.

3. A crystal form having 3, 4, 6, 8, or 12 faces parallel to the vertical axis and intersecting the horizontal axis.

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prism Cultural  

1. A solid figure in geometry with bases or ends of the same size and shape and sides that have parallel edges. Also, an object that has this shape.

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Discover More

A prism of glass (or a similar transparent material) can be used to bend different wavelengths of light by different amounts through refraction. This bending separates a beam of white light into a spectrum of colored light.

Etymology

Origin of prism

1560–70; < Late Latin prīsma < Greek prîsma literally, something sawed, akin to prī́zein to saw, prīstēs sawyer

Example Sentences

Much of EU policymaking is now being viewed through the prism of sovereignty.

From Barron's • Feb. 5, 2026

The woman, Hanan, is played by Palestinian American writer-director Cherien Dabis, whose third feature spans more than 70 years of Palestinian history, told through the prism of one family and three generations of its men.

From Los Angeles Times • Jan. 9, 2026

Language is an ideal prism through which a culture expresses its underlying mores.

From The Wall Street Journal • Dec. 12, 2025

Viewed against such a prism, this foreshadows a period of sloppy price action or correction for the stock market.

From MarketWatch • Nov. 24, 2025

In the beginning of 1666, he tells his readers, he acquired a prism.

From "The Invention of Science" by David Wootton