refractor

[ ri-frak-ter ]

/ rɪˈfræk tər /

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noun

a person or thing that refracts.

See under telescope (def. 1).

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Origin of refractor

First recorded in 1630–40; refract + -or²

Words nearby refractor

refraction, refractive, refractive index, refractivity, refractometer, refractor, refractory, refractory period, refrain, reframe, refrangible

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

How to use refractor in a sentence

Another really good sort of classic starter would be a three- to four-inch refractor and for the refractor, I would probably recommend a manual equatorial mount.
How to view your favorite planets and astronomical events|Jen McCaffery|July 21, 2021|Popular-Science
I will be observing her through the sixty-inch refractor to-night.
Astounding Stories of Super-Science, November, 1930|Various
In the refractor the observer looks toward the object; in the reflector he looks away from it.
Pleasures of the telescope|Garrett Serviss
The refractor achieves this by means of a carefully shaped lens, called the object glass, or objective.
Pleasures of the telescope|Garrett Serviss

The answer is, that the refractor gives more light and better definition.
Pleasures of the telescope|Garrett Serviss
In what follows I have only a refractor in mind, although the same principles would apply to a reflector.
Pleasures of the telescope|Garrett Serviss

British Dictionary definitions for refractor

refractor

/ (rɪˈfræktə) /

noun

an object or material that refracts

another name for refracting telescope

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