retina

American  

[ret-n-uh, ret-nuh] / ˈrɛt n ə, ˈrɛt nə /

noun

Anatomy.

• retinas,
  plural
• retinae
  plural

1. the innermost coat of the posterior part of the eyeball that receives the image produced by the lens, is continuous with the optic nerve, and consists of several layers, one of which contains the rods and cones that are sensitive to light.

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Trademark, Computers.

1. Retina, a brand name used by Apple, Inc., to describe display screens having a resolution so high that it is difficult to see individual pixels with the human eye.

   a Retina display; Retina technology; Retina quality.

retina British  

/ ˈrɛtɪnə /

noun

1. the light-sensitive membrane forming the inner lining of the posterior wall of the eyeball, composed largely of a specialized terminal expansion of the optic nerve. Images focused here by the lens of the eye are transmitted to the brain as nerve impulses

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retina Scientific  

/ rĕt′n-ə /

• retinas
  plural

1. The light-sensitive membrane that lines the inside of the back of the eyeball and connects to the brain by the optic nerve. The retina of vertebrate animals contains rods and cones, specialized cells that absorb light.

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retina Cultural  

1. The inner layer of the eye, sensitive to light, that is connected to the brain by the optic nerve. The retina lines the rear of the eye-ball. The lens of the eye focuses waves of light on the retina.

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Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• retinal
  adjective

Inflected Forms

Nouns

• retinae
  plural
• retinas
  plural

Etymology

Origin of retina

1350–1400; Middle English ret ( h ) ina < Medieval Latin rētina, perhaps equivalent to Latin rēt- (stem of rēte ) net + -ina -ine ¹

Explanation

A retina is a light-sensitive part of an eyeball that sends nerve impulses to the brain so a picture of what the eye is seeing can be formed. Your retina lines the inside of your eye — it's a thin membrane filled with cells that are extremely sensitive to light. It's your retina that allows your brain to actually see what you're looking at, by sending messages through your optic nerve. In Latin, retina means "net-like layer," from the root word rete, or "net."

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

retina retinae retinas

That change triggers signaling within the retina in a way that resembles the normal visual process.

From Science Daily ● Aug. 28, 2026

The researchers found no evidence of cell death in the retina.

From Science Daily ● Aug. 23, 2026

Dean warned that if anyone looked directly at the sun they would "burn your retina in your eye and you will be permanently blind".

From BBC ● Aug. 11, 2026

Doctors warn that looking directly at the Sun during a solar eclipse can damage the retina, potentially harming the cells responsible for sharp central vision.

From Barron's ● Aug. 11, 2026

A patch of sky, frozen in a cloudy retina, reflected in a puddle on the ground.

From "The Secret History" by Donna Tartt

The researchers demonstrated axon regeneration in animal models and human cells taken from retinae donated by patients.

From Science Daily ● Apr. 19, 2024

The axons that decussate in the chiasm are from the medial retinae of either eye, and therefore carry information from the peripheral visual field.

From Textbooks ● Jun. 19, 2013

Because of this offset, visual stimuli do not fall on exactly the same spot on both retinae unless we are fixated directly on them and they fall on the fovea of each retina.

From Textbooks ● Jun. 19, 2013

Binocular depth cues compare information represented in the two retinae because they do not see the visual field exactly the same.

From Textbooks ● Jun. 19, 2013

But dirt upon a face that he wished to be clean he could not see—a fluid in his blue eyes dissolved that dirt while the image of the face was passing on to their retinae.

From The Country House by John Galsworthy

Clouds and sunglasses will not prevent this and it is not always immediately obvious that the retinas have been harmed as it is not painful to look at the Sun during an eclipse.

From BBC ● Aug. 12, 2026

For this study, the Yale team successfully used a dual patch clamp technique on fully intact mouse retinas.

From Science Daily ● Jul. 14, 2026

At an adaptive sports session early this year, the group made contact with Walt Raineri, a former paralympian in sailing with retitnitus pigmentosa — a hereditary disease that attacks the retinas.

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 14, 2025

Fluffy white clouds and red hemorrhages, the work of cytomegalovirus, bloomed across patients’ retinas until they went blind.

From Slate ● Jan. 31, 2025

Its retinas burned red in the blinding beam; it looked exhausted and crazed with fear.

From "Into the Wild" by Jon Krakauer