Synonyms

viewfinder

American

[vyoo-fahyn-der] / ˈvjuˌfaɪn dər /

noun

Photography.

finder.

viewfinder British

/ ˈvjuːˌfaɪndə /

noun

Sometimes shortened to: finder. a device on a camera, consisting of a lens system and sometimes a ground-glass screen, enabling the user to see what will be included in his photograph

"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

Etymology

Origin of viewfinder

First recorded in 1890–95; view + finder

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.

See Examples For:

viewfinder

Was he so concerned with capturing his son’s malaise as Adrian became an adult that he missed details he might’ve seen if one eye weren’t looking through the viewfinder?

From Salon ● Jul. 24, 2026

"A lot of artists can have a narrow viewpoint of love and relationships - but with Jim, there's this very wide viewfinder," says Radio 1's Jack Saunders.

From BBC ● Jan. 8, 2026

That day, something exciting appeared on the viewfinder of Gauna's drone camera.

From Science Daily ● Jan. 29, 2024

He looked through the viewfinder of a camera pointed toward his father, who was playing on the floor with his sister Bleu.

From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 2, 2023

He gave me the camera and I aimed through the viewfinder to the crux of the wheel.

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