spectacles
Britishplural noun
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Often (informal) shortened to: specs. a pair of glasses for correcting defective vision
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cricket a score of 0 in each innings of a match
Explanation
Spectacles are eyeglasses. People wear spectacles because their vision is flawed. Spectacles is an old-fashioned word, but it means something you probably see — and maybe even use — every day: eyeglasses. People who have defective vision need spectacles to see properly. Spectacles have two main parts: the lenses and the frames that hold the lenses. An ophthalmologist (eye doctor) can test your eyes and see if you need spectacles. You can also call spectacles glasses or specs.
Vocabulary lists containing spectacles
Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone
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"Harrison Bergeron"
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Mr. Popper’s Penguins
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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.
Weddings are spectacles, and a couple’s budget can say a lot about what matters to them.
From Slate ● Jul. 10, 2026
Their position near eye level gives these scenes an unusual immediacy, drawing us inescapably into these harrowing spectacles.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 2, 2026
They are, at the end of a Sunday night, high fantasy spectacles based on a fictional land with a complex history that was created by author George R.R.
From Salon ● Jun. 21, 2026
The parade is one of the biggest royal and military spectacles of the year, culminating with a Red Arrows flypast watched by the royals from the Buckingham Palace balcony.
From BBC ● Jun. 13, 2026
But his blue eyes behind the thick round spectacles were as mild and merry as ever, and he gazed from one of us to the other with frank delight.
From "The Hiding Place" by Corrie ten Boom
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.
