mirror image
Americannoun
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an image of an object, plan, person, etc., as it would appear if viewed in a mirror, with right and left reversed.
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an object having a spatial arrangement that corresponds to that of another object except that the right-to-left sense on one object corresponds to the left-to-right sense on the other.
noun
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an image as observed in a mirror
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an object that corresponds to another object in the same way as it would correspond to its image in a mirror
Etymology
Origin of mirror image
First recorded in 1880–85
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
The careers most at risk are the mirror image: roles built on processing information at scale without deep specialization.
From The Wall Street Journal • Jun. 10, 2026
Vladimir Putin's welcome outside the Great Hall of the People was a near mirror image of the reception for Donald Trump last week.
From BBC • May 20, 2026
It was a mirror image of recent trading patterns in which a few tech companies powered the S&P 500 higher.
From Barron's • May 12, 2026
Amino acids exist in two mirror image forms, similar to left and right hands.
From Science Daily • Feb. 12, 2026
‘You know. When you take a photo. Why don’t letters appear back to front, like in a mirror image.’
From "The London Eye Mystery" by Siobhan Dowd
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
