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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

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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”

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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

Its movements resembled the way the iris of the human eye changes shape as the pupil expands or narrows.

From Science Daily ● Oct. 23, 2026

Clinicians are gathering iris scans, voice recordings and harnessing AI to crunch through and curate masses of data to spot signs of change that may be early indicators of future problems.

From BBC ● May 22, 2026

“You can’t change your iris if someone does manage to get ahold of that information.”

From The Wall Street Journal ● Feb. 26, 2026

IriHealth is preparing to launch, for only about $50, a small smartphone extension that would scan a user's iris.

From Barron's ● Jan. 12, 2026

His pupils had dilated in the lamplight, absorbing the hazel of the iris.

From "Educated" by Tara Westover

Yi-Han Iris Yin, a PhD student in the Department of Physics and the Hong Kong Institute of Astronomy and Astrophysics at The University of Hong Kong, led the analysis of the high-energy emission.

From Science Daily ● Oct. 8, 2026

Times fellow Iris Kwok contributed to this report.

From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 7, 2026

TerraWulf, Ionic Digital, Core Scientific, Iris Energy, Bitdeer, Riot Platforms and Hut 8 are just some of the companies increasingly diverting investment and infrastructure from bitcoin mining towards AI.

From BBC ● Aug. 25, 2026

The company is aiming to bring 14 gigawatts of capacity online by 2027 and planning to manufacture its own Iris chips.

From MarketWatch ● Aug. 25, 2026

"Time for the big question, Bruce. How's Iris coming along?"

From "The Martian" by Andy Weir

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

From Time Magazine Archive

Female smaller; head and crest reddish brown; breast mottled with ash and white; upper plumage and flanks deep ash-colour; speculum with one black bar; bill and feet dull orange; irides brown.

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

Winter—upper plumage dusky, spotted with yellow, cheeks, neck, and breast mottled with ash-brown and buff; throat and abdomen white; quills dusky, white along the shafts towards the end; beak dusky, feet deep ash-colour; irides brown.

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

Upper plumage black, with green and purple reflections; under white; bill and orbits red; irides brown; feet deep red.

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

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

About a month ago, an artist going by @redteneri posted a drawing on X/Twitter of Harry Potter character Draco Malfoy as a girl with long blond hair, hoop earrings, and green irises.

From Slate ● Oct. 29, 2026

His attentive eyes, rendered to suggest both irises and pupils, are cast to one side—sizing up, perhaps, a nearby talker—and his lips are parted, as though he himself is about to speak.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 12, 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

He touches the border of the shrubbery with the rim of his racket and sets one or two wild irises nodding.

From "How the García Girls Lost Their Accents" by Julia Alvarez

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