hand lens

noun

: a magnifying glass to be held in the hand

Examples of hand lens in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Maidment’s graduate student, Joe Bonsor, takes note on his clipboard then brings a piece of rock close to his face and squints at it through a hand lens. — Laura Poppick, Discover Magazine, 30 Aug. 2019 Holding a hand lens to its bloom, Knapp showed me how this DYC was not a single blossom but a bouquet. — Marion Renault, The New Republic, 20 Dec. 2021

Word History

First Known Use

1930, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of hand lens was in 1930

Rhymes for hand lens

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Cite this Entry

“Hand lens.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/hand%20lens. Accessed 22 Mar. 2025.

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Kids Definition

hand lens

noun
: a magnifying glass to be held in the hand
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