contact lens

American

noun

one of a pair of small plastic disks that are held in place over the cornea by surface tension and correct vision defects inconspicuously.

contact lens British

noun

a thin convex lens, usually of plastic, which floats on the layer of tears in front of the cornea to correct defects of vision

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Etymology

Origin of contact lens

First recorded in 1885–90

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.

In Florstadt, automated procedures coexist with manual handling at fixed workstations, such as preparing a single contact lens ordered by an optician for a specific patient for further shipping.

From Barron's • Apr. 5, 2026

We went through four different contact lens and colors, but we wanted the one that would allow people in more.

From Los Angeles Times • Nov. 21, 2024

Those people, along with some athletic types, are catered to by the contact lens market.

From Slate • Oct. 20, 2024

In human cell culture study, the researchers achieved complete wound healing within five days using the drug-releasing novel contact lens material.

From Science Daily • Mar. 21, 2024

I’m in the bathroom trying to put my right contact lens back in.

From "Speak" by Laurie Halse Anderson

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023