lens

noun

1. An object, usually made of glass, that focuses or defocuses the light that passes through it.

   “Not long ago, it was difficult to produce photographs of tiny creatures with every part in focus. That’s because the lenses that are excellent at magnifying tiny subjects produce a narrow depth of field.”

2. A device which focuses or defocuses other waves or radiation, such as microwave radiation, electron beams, sound waves (acoustic lenses), or explosions (explosive lenses).
3. A convex shape bounded by two circular arcs, joined at their endpoints, the corresponding concave shape being a lune.
4. The transparent crystalline structure in the eye.

   “The single-imaging optic of the mammalian eye offers some distinct visual advantages. Such lenses can take in photons from a wide range of angles, increasing light sensitivity. They also have high spatial resolution, resolving incoming images in minute detail.”

5. A body of rock, ice, or water shaped like a convex lens.
6. A convex layer of fresh groundwater that floats above the denser saltwater, usually found on small coral or limestone islands and atolls.
7. A construct used in statically-typed functional programming languages to access nested data structures.
8. (broadly, figuratively)A way of looking, literally or figuratively, at something.

   “If "the public looks at the condition of America's children largely through a negative lens," worries Child Trends[…], "it may be more difficult to […] promote child well-being."”

   “No film should be revised based on the lenses we now are, either voluntarily, or being forced to peer through.”

verb

1. (transitive)To film, shoot.

   “It’s set in an anonymous, upper-middle-class suburb, lensed in the generic gunmetal gray that will one day appear as dated as the fuzzy outlines of ’80s direct-to-video horror movies.”

2. To become thinner towards the edges.

name

1. A municipality in Hainaut, Belgium.
2. A commune in Pas-de-Calais department, Hauts-de-France, France.
3. A municipality in Valais canton, Switzerland.