lens
lens Lexical Profile
lens Game Scores & Validity
• noun
A piece of glass or other transparent material with curved sides for concentrating or dispersing light rays, used singly or in combinations in optical instruments.
"The photographer swapped out the camera lens to capture a wider angle of the sweeping mountain landscape."
A conceptual framework, perspective, or channel through which a subject, issue, or situation is viewed and understood.
"The historian examined the medieval conflict through the lens of economic disparity rather than political ideology."
The transparent, biconvex anatomical structure in the eye that, along with the cornea, helps to refract light to be focused on the retina.
"As people age, the lens of the eye can sometimes become cloudy, resulting in a cataract that impairs vision."
• verb
To film, photograph, or shoot a motion picture or scene.
"The director chose to lens the entire movie in black and white to emphasize its striking noir atmosphere."
To cause light or other radiation to deflect or focus as it passes through or near a massive object (used especially in astrophysics).
"The gravity of the massive galaxy cluster was found to lens the light from the distant quasar situated directly behind it."
Word Nuance & Usage
The spelling 'lense' is a common error, likely formed by back-formation from the plural 'lenses', but 'lens' is the only universally accepted spelling for both the singular noun and the verb.
• Rhymes for lens
Word Origin & Etymology
From Latin 'lens' (meaning lentil), named for the visual resemblance of a double-convex optical lens to the shape of a lentil seed.
Usage Trend
Historical frequency of usage in published text.