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magnifying glass

See more synonyms for magnifying glass on Thesaurus.com
noun
  1. a lens that produces an enlarged image of an object.
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Compare hand lens.

Origin of magnifying glass

First recorded in 1655–65
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018

Examples from the Web for magnifying glass

Historical Examples

  • She had a magnifying-glass on one side of her and a crystal ball on the other.

    The Twelfth Hour

    Ada Leverson

  • Now look at one of them carefully through this magnifying-glass.

  • You might put that magnifying-glass down just for one moment, and pay attention!

    A Likely Story

    William De Morgan

  • Hanaud took his magnifying-glass from his pocket and bent his head over the cushion.

    At the Villa Rose

    A. E. W. Mason

  • He was examining a piece of china with a magnifying-glass when I entered.

    Thomas Hardy's Dorset

    Robert Thurston Hopkins

British Dictionary definitions for magnifying glass

magnifying glass

magnifier

noun
  1. a convex lens used to produce an enlarged image of an object
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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