lens´less

lens «lehnz», noun, plural lens|es.

1. a curved piece of glass, or something like glass, that will bring closer together or send wider apart the rays of light passing through it. The lens of a camera forms images. The lenses of a telescope make things look larger and nearer. Lenses have two opposite surfaces, either both curved or one plane and one curved, and are used alone or in combination in optical instruments.

2. a combination of two or more of these pieces, especially as used in a camera, microscope, or telescope.

3. the part of the eye that directs light rays upon the retina. The lens is a clear, oval structure behind the iris.

4. a device to focus radiations other than those of light.

5. Geology. a layer of uniform sedimentary material that becomes progressively thinner along its edges.

╂[< Latin lēns, lentis lentil (which has a biconvex shape)]

–lens´less, adjective.