macro lens

American  

[mak-roh] / ˈmæk roʊ /

noun

Photography.

1. a lens used to bring into focus objects very close to the camera.

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macro lens British  

noun

1. a camera lens used for close-up photography (2–10 cm)

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Etymology

Origin of macro lens

First recorded in 1960–65

Example Sentences

Using a high-powered macro lens, and a composite of stills, Barry is able to reveal the tiny structures, which can grow anywhere from forests to deserts.

From BBC • Dec. 29, 2025

“When you’re looking at it all at 1,000 frames a second and through a macro lens, it’s like two layers of things you can’t see with the human eye,” Sheridan said.

From Seattle Times • May 22, 2024

Chasing down a comment on male-imposed expectations — and, more subtly, self-imposed ones — her macro lens swaddles everything in consumable lushness.

From Los Angeles Times • May 21, 2024

Mosse booked himself into a remote ecolodge in the Ecuadorean cloud forest, and began photographing plants, lichens, mycelium and insects with a macro lens.

From New York Times • Jun. 8, 2023

It comes with a 64MP main camera, 8MP ultra-wide camera, 2MP macro lens on its rear, and 16MP camera on the front.

From The Verge • Feb. 28, 2022