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• iris
  iris

  noun

  the contractile, circular diaphragm forming the colored portion of the eye and containing a circular opening, the pupil, in its center.
• Iris
  Iris

  noun

  a female given name.

iris

¹ American  

[ahy-ris] / ˈaɪ rɪs /

noun

• irises,
  plural
• irides
  plural

1. Anatomy. the contractile, circular diaphragm forming the colored portion of the eye and containing a circular opening, the pupil, in its center.

2. Botany. any plant of the genus Iris, having showy flowers and sword-shaped leaves.

3. a flower of this plant.

4. (initial capital letter) a messenger of the gods, regarded as the goddess of the rainbow.

5. a rainbow.

6. any appearance resembling a rainbow.

7. Movies, Television. an iris-in or iris-out.

8. Optics, Photography. iris diaphragm.

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verb (used without object)

1. Movies. to begin or end a take or scene with an iris-in or iris-out, achieved by manipulation of an iris diaphragm on the camera or by editing the film.

Iris ² American  

[ahy-ris] / ˈaɪ rɪs /

noun

1. a female given name.

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Iris ¹ British  

/ ˈaɪrɪs /

noun

1. the goddess of the rainbow along which she travelled to earth as a messenger of the gods

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iris ² British  

/ ˈaɪrɪs /

noun

1. the coloured muscular diaphragm that surrounds and controls the size of the pupil

2. Also called: fleur-de-lys. any plant of the iridaceous genus Iris, having brightly coloured flowers composed of three petals and three drooping sepals See also flag 3 orris 1 stinking iris

3. Also called: rainbow quartz. a form of quartz that reflects light polychromatically from internal fractures

4. a rare or poetic word for rainbow

5. something resembling a rainbow; iridescence

6. short for iris diaphragm

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iris Scientific  

/ ī′rĭs /

• irises
  plural

1. The colored, muscular ring around the pupil of the eye in vertebrate animals, located between the cornea and lens. Contraction and expansion of the iris controls the size of the pupil, thereby regulating the amount of light reaching the retina.

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iris Cultural  

1. The colored membrane of the eye, surrounding the pupil, which by contracting and expanding regulates the amount of light that enters the eye.

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Other Word Forms

Noun Inflected Forms

• irides
  plural
• irises
  plural

Etymology

Origin of iris

First recorded in 1350–1400; Middle English, from Latin Īris, īris, from Greek Îris, îris “rainbow, goddess of the rainbow, halo, iris flower or root, iridescent crystal”; in some senses, from New Latin, from Greek: “diaphragm of eye”

Explanation

Your iris is the colored part of your eye that surrounds the black pupil in the center. If your irises are brown, you can say you have brown eyes. The job of the iris is to determine how large or small the pupil is, depending on the amount of light available. Your iris protects your eye's retina, by controlling how much light reaches it, and helps you to see. Another kind of iris is a bright flower with long, spiky leaves. Both irises take their names from the Greek iris, "rainbow."

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

iris Iris irides irises

Over the same period, Tinder's audience fell from 1.9 million to 1.5 million, according to Ipsos iris data.

From BBC ● Jun. 4, 2026

Sitting on his living room couch this week, Rodriguez said doctors told him the projectile that hit him in his eye damaged his iris, cornea and lens.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jan. 16, 2026

The gadget relies on iridology, a technique by which iris colors and markings are believed to reveal information about a person's health, but which is generally considered scientifically unreliable.

From Barron's ● Jan. 12, 2026

All three sections brim with short essays on various plant species such as rose, clover, iris, violet, daisy and lily of the valley, which Dior fashioned into silhouettes and blossoming decorative surfaces.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Nov. 21, 2025

One brown iris slipped into view, then the other.

From "Educated" by Tara Westover

"The glass beads serve a similar function to calibration weights on a scale," explains Iris Weber from the University of Münster.

From Science Daily ● Sep. 12, 2026

Iris Mariño, 37, an actress and independent journalist in the city of Camagüey in eastern Cuba, is in her last month of a high-risk pregnancy.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 13, 2026

Deutsche Bank analyst Benjamin Black believes Meta could achieve up to 35% lower data-center costs in 2027 using a combination of Iris and Nvidia chips.

From MarketWatch ● Jul. 9, 2026

Times staff writer Iris Kwok contributed to this report.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 2, 2026

They’d left R.O.F.L. in a hurry, so maybe Iris hadn’t meant the bag as a criticism.

From "The Son of Neptune" by Rick Riordan

Warner's prose duplicates the irides cent beauty of elfin life.

From Time Magazine Archive

This bird proved to be one of the remarkably handsome pale varieties of Buteo vulgaris, the whole plumage of a warm cream-colour, slightly mottled and splashed above with dark brown; irides dark and claws white.

From Wild Spain (Espa?a agreste) Records of Sport with Rifle, Rod, and Gun, Natural History Exploration by Walter J. Buck

Young—crest and ruff wanting; upper plumage and flanks dusky ash, under parts white; irides white, surrounded by red.

From British Birds in their Haunts by Rev. C. A. Johns

It has red legs, crimson irides, a rosy beak tipped with black, and coral-red wing-spurs; and these spots of bright colour add to its bold striking appearance.

From Argentine Ornithology, Volume II (of 2) A descriptive catalogue of the birds of the Argentine Republic. by W. H. (William Henry) Hudson

It is a handsome bird, with large ruby-red irides, and when seen at a distance its snow-white plumage and buoyant flight give it a striking resemblance to a gull.

From Argentine Ornithology, Volume II (of 2) A descriptive catalogue of the birds of the Argentine Republic. by W. H. (William Henry) Hudson

In recent months, the agency has greenlighted a contract for a tool that can scan subjects’ irises and recruited several artificial-intelligence-fueled companies to locate immigrants.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jan. 5, 2026

Since the 1990s, doctors have been performing medical keratopigmentation for people born without irises and certain other eye conditions.

From Salon ● May 4, 2025

White and purple irises line the paths beneath ancient horse chestnuts in full flower.

From BBC ● May 3, 2025

The handmade quality of the film is reflected in the many manual filmmaking techniques on display, such as split diopter shots, optical wipes and irises.

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 23, 2024

He could see the white all round the irises of Julia’s eyes.

From "1984" by George Orwell