lenses

1. 1
   noun

   Plural of lens.

   She compared two camera lenses before deciding which to buy.

   The optician polished the new eyeglass lenses until they were spotless.

   Note

   A regular plural that needs an extra syllable: lens already ends in an s sound, so English adds -es rather than a bare -s. The plural covers every meaning of the noun, including camera and spectacle lenses, the lenses of the eyes, and lens-shaped bodies of rock, ice or water. The same spelling also does duty as a verb form, in the filmmaker's "shoots" sense.

2. 2
   verb

   Third-person singular simple present of lens.

   The veteran cinematographer lenses each scene using only natural light.

   Whoever lenses the film must match the director's vision closely.

   Note

   A present-tense form from the language of film sets, where a cinematographer lenses a picture the way a photographer shoots one. It needs a singular subject (she lenses, but the crew lens). The verb has a quieter physical meaning as well: something that lenses grows thinner toward its edges, the way a lens itself tapers.

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