eyespot

[ ahy-spot ]

noun
  1. a sensory organ of lower animals, having a light-perceiving function.

  2. an eyelike spot, as on the tail of a peacock; eye.

  1. Plant Pathology. a disease of plants, characterized by elliptical lesions on the leaves and stems, stunting of growth, and rotting, caused by any of several fungi.

Origin of eyespot

1
First recorded in 1580–90; eye + spot

Words Nearby eyespot

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024

How to use eyespot in a sentence

British Dictionary definitions for eyespot

eyespot

/ (ˈaɪˌspɒt) /


noun
  1. a small area of light-sensitive pigment in some protozoans, algae, and other simple organisms

  2. an eyelike marking, as on the wings of certain butterflies

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

Scientific definitions for eyespot

eyespot

[ īspŏt′ ]


  1. An area that is sensitive to light and functions somewhat like an eye, found in certain single-celled organisms as well as many invertebrate animals.

  2. A round marking resembling an eye, as on the tail feather of a peacock.

The American Heritage® Science Dictionary Copyright © 2011. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.