Merriam-Webster Logo
SINCE 1828
Menu
×

An Encyclopædia Britannica Company

saccade

play
noun sac·cade \sa-ˈkäd\

Definition of saccade

  1. :  a small rapid jerky movement of the eye especially as it jumps from fixation on one point to another (as in reading)

saccadic

play \-ˈkä-dik\ adjective

From the M-W Editors

video-title-words-of-the-year-1066
Words of the Year: 1066
image1358596246
Words About Word Play
alt-5978b44edfb13
Our (Almost) Final Word on 'Penultimate'
alt-5978a79b75e17
Trending: 'Transgender' Americans Face New Restrictions

Origin and Etymology of saccade

French, twitch, jerk, from Middle French, from saquer to pull, draw

Medical Dictionary

saccade

play
noun sac·cade \sa-ˈkäd\

Medical Definition of saccade

  1. :  a small rapid jerky movement of the eye especially as it jumps from fixation on one point to another (as in reading)

saccadic

\-ˈkäd-ik\play adjective

Learn More about saccade

  1. See words that rhyme with saccade Britannica.com: Encyclopedia article about saccade

Seen and Heard

What made you want to look up saccade? Please tell us where you read or heard it (including the quote, if possible).

show hide

Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!

WORD OF THE DAY

fester

play

to become worse as time passes

Get Word of the Day daily email!

TRENDING NOW

  1. transgender Trump reverses military policy allowing transgender people to serve

  2. beleaguer 'Being subjected to constant or repeated trouble or harassment'

  3. scaramouch A new White House communications director

  4. non sequitur “It does not follow”

  5. admiral's mast A massive search ends with an 'admiral's mast'.

SEE ALL

BROWSE DICTIONARY

saccade

Test Your Vocabulary

The Emoji Quiz

  • emoji-the-quiz
  • What phase of the moon is this: 🌖 ?
Name That Thing

Test your visual vocabulary with our 10-question challenge!

TAKE THE QUIZ
Word Winder's CrossWinder

Test Your Knowledge - and learn some interesting things along the way.

TAKE THE QUIZ

Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!

Words at Play

alt-5978b44edfb13
Our (Almost) Final Word on 'Penultimate'

The ultimate guide to using penultimate.

alt-5978cb55e8ba5
The Grammatical History of 'Awaken'/'Awoken'/'Awakened'

Or you can just go back to bed.

alt-59775cb5d7779
Words We're Watching: 'Aquafaba'

Don't dump out the bean water just yet...

image1358596246
Words About Word Play

Don't just eat your words—play with them!

Ask the Editors

video-title-words-of-the-year-1066
Words of the Year: 1066

Or, Why Pig Meat is Called 'Pork' and Cow Meat is Called 'Beef'

payday
How Often Is 'Biweekly'?

Don't get us started on 'bimonthly'

video-irregardless-grammar-peeve-blend-of-the-synonyms-irrespective-and-regardless
Irregardless

It is in fact a real word (but that doesn't mean you should use it).

video-moose-goose-weird-plurals
Weird Plurals

One goose, two geese. One moose, two... moose. What's up with that?

Word Games

emoji-the-quiz
The Emoji Quiz

Think you’re an emoji 👓 expert? Let’s see 🤔

Take the quiz
image941935269
A Game of Thrones Word Quiz

In the Game of Thrones quiz, you learn some new vocabulary. (It’s quite safe, really. You will not die.)

Take the quiz
Name That Thing
Name That Thing

Test your visual vocabulary with our 10-question challenge!

Take the quiz
Word Winder's CrossWinder
Word Winder's CrossWinder

A game of winding words.

Play the game