cornea
Americannoun
-
corneas
plural
noun
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Etymology
Origin of cornea
1350–1400; Middle English < Medieval Latin cornea ( tēla, later tunica ) horny (web or tunic), feminine of corneus corneous
Explanation
Your cornea is part of your eyeball — specifically, it's the clear layer that covers your whole iris and pupil. Without a cornea (or two), you wouldn't be able to see. This transparent dome focuses light as it passes through, as well as protecting the rest of the eye from injury. If you've ever gotten a little scratch on your eyeball, that's called a corneal abrasion and it usually heals itself quickly. The Latin root of cornea means "horn-like web or sheath," from an ancient Greek belief that it resembled a thin slice of an animal's horn.
Vocabulary lists containing cornea
As Long as the Lemon Trees Grow
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Man Made Monsters
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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.
See Examples For:
The cornea is the clear, dome-shaped surface covering the front of the eye.
From Science Daily ● Sep. 29, 2026
In separate tests, researchers found that EMR might be able to reverse some chemical-caused cloudiness to the cornea -- a condition that is currently only treatable through a complete corneal transplant.
From Science Daily ● Sep. 29, 2026
The cornea contains large amounts of collagen, a structural protein also found in skin, cartilage, tendons, and other tissues.
From Science Daily ● Sep. 29, 2026
What to be aware of: Skip near the eyes to avoid nasty scratches on your cornea, says the British Skin Foundation's Dr Emma Wedgeworth, and never use craft glitter.
From BBC ● Jul. 30, 2026
Africa has parasites so particular and diverse as to occupy every niche of the body: intestines small and large, the skin, the bladder, the male and female reproductive tracts, interstitial fluids, even the cornea.
From "The Poisonwood Bible" by Barbara Kingsolver
In those eyes, the corneas successfully achieved the intended focusing power that would correspond to improved vision.
From Science Daily ● May 28, 2026
A new person of interest emerges in Otis Heiss, a German national with a murky record who was admitted to the hospital with burns on his corneas, ruptured eardrums and self-inflicted bite marks.
From New York Times ● Feb. 4, 2024
Surgeons have been able to transplant corneas successfully for years.
From BBC ● Nov. 9, 2023
Among the body parts that can be donated after death are the heart, pancreas, corneas, lungs, kidneys and liver.
From Salon ● Jul. 14, 2023
His temples throbbed, sandy eyelids scratching his corneas.
From "Bone Gap" by Laura Ruby
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.
