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enlarger

American  
[en-lahr-jer] / ɛnˈlɑr dʒər /

noun

Photography.
  1. an apparatus used for making projection prints, having a head for holding, illuminating, and projecting a film negative and a bed for holding a sheet of sensitized printing paper.


enlarger British  
/ ɪnˈlɑːdʒə /

noun

  1. an optical instrument for making enlarged photographic prints in which a negative is brightly illuminated and its enlarged image is focused onto a sheet of sensitized paper

"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 enlarger

1535–45, for an earlier sense; enlarge + -er 1

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:

But we had an enlarger to print — which actually became your room later.

From Los Angeles Times Aug. 19, 2024

Working in his darkroom with as many as seven enlargers, each holding a different negative, Mr. Uelsmann moved a sheet of photographic paper from enlarger to enlarger.

From New York Times Apr. 13, 2022

A bathroom has been transformed into a darkroom, complete with a custom-made Leitz enlarger and a fibre print washer installed in the claw-foot tub.

From The New Yorker Jun. 13, 2019

Once you have a decent negative, you can slap it in an enlarger and print it countless different ways.

From Washington Post Mar. 19, 2017

Although the typewriters were brought in unharmed, the enlarger was hopelessly smashed.

From "The Milagro Beanfield War" by John Nichols

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