hand lens

noun

: a magnifying glass to be held in the hand

Examples of hand lens in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web 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 There were veins to count and stubble to inspect under hand lens. Marion Renault, The New Republic, 20 Dec. 2021 Wearing a face mask and latex gloves, Clancy examined what was inside each packet, either with a hand lens or under a microscope. Chris Heath, The Atlantic, 15 July 2021 Culex pipiens —and take a look at it under a microscope or a powerful hand lens. Daisy Alioto, The New York Review of Books, 27 Mar. 2020 Occasionally, one of them would cradle it in one palm and bring a hand lens to it with the other, inspecting the carnivorous plant that was their bounty. Marion Renault, New York Times, 13 Aug. 2019 The city’s old concrete yields everything from tiny specimens demanding close inspection with a hand lens to a gigantic cliff fern almost 6 feet across. Irene Wanner, The Seattle Times, 19 May 2019 Using a combination of powerful microscopes, hand lenses, and 3D reconstructions, the researchers looked for tell-tale signs of deliberate cutting on the cow skull. Roni Dengler, Science | AAAS, 19 Apr. 2018

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'hand lens.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

Word History

First Known Use

1930, in the meaning defined above

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

Dictionary Entries Near hand lens

Cite this Entry

“Hand lens.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/hand%20lens. Accessed 24 Apr. 2024.

Kids Definition

hand lens

noun
: a magnifying glass to be held in the hand
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