A lens is a thin curved piece of glass or plastic used in things such as cameras, telescopes, and pairs of glasses. You look through a lens in order to make things look larger, smaller, or clearer.
...a camera lens.
I packed your sunglasses with the green lenses.
2. countable noun [usually singular]
In your eye, the lens is the part behind the pupil that focuses light and helps you to see clearly.
3. See also contact lens, telephoto lens, wide-angle lens, zoom lens
lens in British English
(lɛnz)
noun
1.
a piece of glass or other transparent material, used to converge or diverge transmitted light and form optical images
2. Also called: compound lens
a combination of such lenses for forming images or concentrating a beam of light
3.
a device that diverges or converges a beam of electromagnetic radiation, sound, or particles
electron lens
4. anatomy crystalline lens
▶ Related adjective: lenticular
Word origin
C17: from Latin lēns lentil, referring to the similarity of a lens to the shape of a lentil
Lens in British English
(lenz, French lɑ̃s)
noun
an industrial town in N France, in the Pas de Calais department; badly damaged in both World Wars. Pop: 36 257 (2006)
lens in American English
(lɛnz)
noun
1.
a.
a piece of glass, or other transparent substance, with two curved surfaces, or one plane and one curved, regularly bringing together or spreading rays of light passing through it: a lens or combination of lenses is used in optical instruments, eyeglasses, etc. to form an image
b.
a combination of two or more such pieces
2.
any of various devices used to focus microwaves, electrons, or sound waves
3. Anatomy
a transparent, biconvex body situated between the iris and the vitreous humor of the eye: it focuses upon the retina light rays entering the pupil
verb transitive Informal
4.
to photograph
5.
to make a film of
Word origin
L, lentil: from the resemblance to the shape of a lentil
Two thirds of the adult population need to wear glasses or contact lenses.
Times, Sunday Times (2009)
If you wear contact lenses may make eyes dry.
Westcott, Patsy Alternative Health Care for Women (1991)
Special lenses trick the eyes into thinking they are seeing another world.
The Sun (2014)
Eyes with lenses were successful enough that there was little point in animals evolving mirrored eyes.
Times, Sunday Times (2009)
Consumers are under no obligation to buy glasses or contact lenses from the optician who carried out their eye test.
Times, Sunday Times (2010)
Try to imagine what it would be like if you wore glasses with red lenses from the moment of your birth.
Appelbaum, Richard P. Sociology (1995)
It may once have seemed that mastering the technology of cameras and lenses was a vital part of becoming a photographer.
Freeman, Michael Collins Complete Guide to Photography (1993)
More people wear glasses or contact lenses, which cut down ultraviolet light entering the eyes.
MacIntyre, Anne M. E. Post-Viral Fatigue Syndrome - How To Live With It (1989)
Word lists with
lens
eye
In other languages
lens
British English: lens /lɛnz/ NOUN
A lens is a thin, curved piece of glass or plastic in something such as a camera or pair of glasses which makes things appear larger or clearer.
...a powerful lens for my camera.
American English: lens
Arabic: عَدَسَةٌ
Brazilian Portuguese: lente
Chinese: 镜头
Croatian: leća
Czech: čočka optická
Danish: linse på kamera
Dutch: lens
European Spanish: lente
Finnish: linssi
French: lentille
German: Linse Optik
Greek: φακός οπτική
Italian: lente
Japanese: レンズ
Korean: 렌즈
Norwegian: linse
Polish: soczewka
European Portuguese: lente
Romanian: lentilă
Russian: линза
Latin American Spanish: lente
Swedish: lins kamera m.m.
Thai: เลนส์ตา
Turkish: lens
Ukrainian: лінза
Vietnamese: ống kính
All related terms of 'lens'
hard lens
a rigid plastic lens which floats on the layer of tears in front of the cornea , worn to correct defects of vision
lens cap
a small lid or cover for a camera lens which protects it when the camera is not in use
lens hood
an extension piece fixed to a camera lens to shield it from a direct light source
soft lens
a flexible hydrogel lens worn on the surface of the eye to correct defects of vision
zoom lens
A zoom lens is a lens that you can attach to a camera, which allows you to make the details larger or smaller while always keeping the picture clear .
crown lens
a lens made of optical crown , esp the optical-crown part of a compound achromatic lens
lens field
an open tract of uncultivated grassland ; meadow
lens holder
a container which holds a thin curved piece of glass or plastic in place
macro lens
a camera lens used for close-up photography (2–10 cm)
mirror lens
a lens of long focal length in which some of the lens elements are replaced by mirrors in order to shorten its overall length and reduce its weight
toric lens
a lens used to correct astigmatism , having one of its surfaces shaped like part of a torus so that its focal lengths are different in different meridians
compound lens
a lens consisting of more than one component lens
contact lens
Contact lenses are small plastic lenses that you put on the surface of your eyes to help you see better , instead of wearing glasses .
Crookes lens
a type of lens , used in sunglasses , that is made from glass containing cerium . It reduces the transmission of ultraviolet radiation
electron lens
a system, such as an arrangement of electrodes or magnets , that produces a field for focusing a beam of electrons
fisheye lens
a lens of small focal length, having a highly curved protruding front element, that covers an angle of view of almost 180°. It yields a circular image having considerable linear distortion
Fresnel lens
a lens consisting of a number of smaller lenses arranged to give a flat surface of short focal length
magnetic lens
a set of magnets , esp electromagnets , used to focus or defocus a beam of charged particles in an electron microscope , particle accelerator , or similar device
metallic lens
an arrangement of louvres used to direct and focus electromagnetic or sound waves
portrait lens
a lens used for taking portraits of people
achromatic lens
a lens designed to bring light of two chosen wavelengths to the same focal point, thus reducing chromatic aberration
anamorphic lens
a component in the optical system of a film projector for converting standard 35mm film images into wide-screen format
correcting lens
a thin lens used to correct spherical aberration introduced by the spherical mirror in certain optical systems
detachable lens
a lens on a digital camera that can be separated from the camera itself, making it easier for the photographer to take certain types of shot . A cable usually connects the disconnected lens and camera
dielectric lens
a lens constructed of a material that converges or diverges a beam of electromagnetic radiation of radio frequency
telephoto lens
A telephoto lens is a powerful camera lens which allows you to take close-up pictures of something that is far away .
telescopic lens
a lens that makes distant objects appear larger and brighter
crystalline lens
a biconvex transparent elastic structure in the eye situated behind the iris , serving to focus images on the retina
electrostatic lens
an electron lens consisting of a system of metal electrodes , the electrostatic field of which focuses the charged particles
gravitational lens
a lenslike effect in which light rays are bent when passing through the gravitational field of such massive objects as galaxies or black holes
gas-permeable lens
a contact lens made of rigid plastic that is more permeable to air than a standard hard lens
single-lens reflex
a reflex camera in which a single lens supplies both the image on the exposed film and that reflected in the viewfinder
soft contact lens
a flexible hydrogel lens worn on the surface of the eye to correct defects of vision
soft-focus lens
a lens designed to produce an image that is uniformly very slightly out of focus : typically used for portrait work
twin-lens reflex
a reflex camera with two lenses , one of which supplies the image reflected in the viewfinder and the other the image on the exposed film
wide-angle lens
A wide-angle lens is a lens which allows you to photograph a wider view than a normal lens.
apochromat
a lens , consisting of three or more elements of different types of glass , that is designed to bring light of three colours to the same focal point, thus reducing its chromatic aberration