lens

[lenz]

noun

plural

lenses 

1. a piece of transparent substance, usually glass, having two opposite surfaces either both curved or one curved and one plane, used in an optical device in changing the convergence of light rays, as for magnification, or in correcting defects of vision.

2. a combination of such pieces.

3. some analogous device, as for affecting sound waves, electromagnetic radiation, or streams of electrons.

4. Anatomy.,  crystalline lens.

5. Geology.,  a body of rock or ore that is thick in the middle and thinner toward the edges, similar in shape to a biconvex lens.

verb (used with object)

1. Movies.,  to film (a motion picture).

Lens

¹

/ lɑ̃, lenz /

noun

1. an industrial town in N France, in the Pas de Calais department; badly damaged in both World Wars. Pop: 36 206 (1999)

lens

²

/ lɛnz /

noun

1. a piece of glass or other transparent material, used to converge or diverge transmitted light and form optical images

2. Also called: compound lens. a combination of such lenses for forming images or concentrating a beam of light

3. a device that diverges or converges a beam of electromagnetic radiation, sound, or particles See electron lens

4. anatomy See crystalline lens

lens

1. A transparent structure behind the iris of the eye that focuses light entering the eye on the retina.

2. 1. A piece of glass or plastic shaped so as to focus or spread light rays that pass through it, often for the purpose of forming an image.

   2. A combination of two or more such lenses, as in a camera or telescope.

3. A device that causes radiation to converge or diverge by an action analogous to that of an optical lens. The system of electric fields used to focus electron beams in electron microscopes is an example of a lens.

lens

¹

1. A piece of transparent material, such as glass, that forms an image from the rays of light passing through it. (See focal length, refraction, and telescope.)

lens

²

1. A clear, almost spherical structure located just behind the pupil of the eye. The lens focuses waves of light on the retina.

Other Word Forms

• lensless adjective
• lenslike adjective
• unlensed adjective

Word History and Origins

Origin of lens¹

First recorded in 1685–95; from New Latin, special use of Latin lēns “a lentil” (from its shape); lentil

Word History and Origins

Origin of lens¹

C17: from Latin lēns lentil, referring to the similarity of a lens to the shape of a lentil

Example Sentences

What particularly interested him was that Chomsky was one of the few intellectuals who viewed systems of power from a historical lens, with detailed facts to back up his views.

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In creative work, dreams are her muses and her lens through which to see her visions more clearly.

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Where “Eusexua” is “the bird’s eye view of the human experience,” Twigs says, “Afterglow” is meant to capture humanity through a more direct lens, where feelings are unfiltered and instantaneous.

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Portland police Chief Bob Day said at a Sept. 29 press conference that the city had been inaccurately portrayed through the lens of the protests in 2020 and 2021.

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Some may question what the value is in looking at history through such a fine lens that it reveals its subjects’ blemishes.

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Related Words

• glass