lens

5 definitions • 3 examples

a curved piece of glass, plastic, or other transparent material, used in cameras, glasses, and scientific equipment, that makes objects seem closer, larger, smaller, etc.:

a camera with a zoom lens

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the part of the eye behind the pupil (= the black hole at the front of the eye) that helps you to see clearly by focusing (= collecting) light onto the retina

a piece of glass or plastic having a curved surface in order to change the images that are received after going through it, usually to make them larger, smaller, or clearer:

a camera lens

Her eyeglasses have thick lenses.

a curved, transparent part of the eye that helps you to see clearly by directing images of light onto the retina (= the back surface of the eye)