: a small rapid jerky movement of the eye especially as it jumps from fixation on one point to another (as in reading)
Examples of saccade in a Sentence
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This dual function allows the insect to execute dramatic maneuvers — up to 96-degree turns in 50 milliseconds — while propelling itself at speeds of 120 body lengths per second, a performance comparable to the acrobatic saccades of fruit flies in air.
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John Drake, Forbes.com, 16 Sep. 2025
Running underneath these higher level behavior states are lower level motion behaviors like breathing, small head movements, eye blinking, and saccades (the quick eye movements that occur when people, or robots, look between two different focal points).
—IEEE Spectrum, 2 Nov. 2020
So how do these brain cells know in advance that a saccade is on the way?
—Tim Vernimmen, Discover Magazine, 19 June 2019
Micah Mazurek The team created three games to enhance a child’s ability to control eye movements, including saccades.
—Sarah Deweerdt, Science | AAAS, 22 June 2018
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John Drake, Forbes.com, 16 Sep. 2025
Running underneath these higher level behavior states are lower level motion behaviors like breathing, small head movements, eye blinking, and saccades (the quick eye movements that occur when people, or robots, look between two different focal points).
—IEEE Spectrum, 2 Nov. 2020
So how do these brain cells know in advance that a saccade is on the way?
—Tim Vernimmen, Discover Magazine, 19 June 2019
Micah Mazurek The team created three games to enhance a child’s ability to control eye movements, including saccades.
—Sarah Deweerdt, Science | AAAS, 22 June 2018
Cite this Entry
“Saccade.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/saccade. Accessed 31 Oct. 2025.
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