visor

noun vi·sor \ ˈvī-zər \

variants: or less commonly vizor

Definition of visor

1 :the front piece of a helmet; especially :a movable upper piece

2 a :a projecting front on a cap or headband for shading the eyes

b :a usually movable flat sunshade attached at the top of an automobile windshield

3 a :a face mask

b :disguise

—

visored

play \ˈvī-zərd\ adjective

—

visorless

play \ˈvī-zər-ləs\ adjective

See visor defined for English-language learners

See visor defined for kids

Examples of visor in a Sentence

the visor on your baseball cap should provide adequate shade for your eyes

Recent Examples of visor from the Web

While George went for a classic black polo and shorts, Amal topped off her black tank top and tennis skirt with a visor, making the once cheesy accessory look instantly cool again.

— lauren alexis fisher, Harper's BAZAAR, "George and Amal Clooney Coordinate Outfits For Tennis Date," 17 Aug. 2017
Pair with a quirky headpiece, such as a bucket hat or visor. 2.

— sarah spellings, The Cut, "Cara Delevingne Demonstrates How to Wear a Homage Tee of Yourself," 14 Aug. 2017
And the sun visors are so slim as to be almost ineffective in some sunny conditions.

— mark maynard, sandiegouniontribune.com, "2017 Bentley Mulsanne: A battle hymn of tradition and stoic provenance," 11 Aug. 2017
In addition to standard cranial protection, the IHPS includes a mandible, visor, night vision goggle attachment device, rails and a modular ballistic applique.

— kyle mizokami, Popular Mechanics, "U.S. Army Troops to Get New Sci-Fi Helmet," 8 Aug. 2017
In addition to the strong construction that is said to deflect gunshots and protect against shrapnel, blasts and fire, the technology can identify friendly or hostile forces and project maps on the helmet visor.

— brian blomster, sacbee, "Boba Fett helmet goes from ‘Star Wars’ fights to real special-forces use," 3 Aug. 2017
Visitors of all ages can leave their mark on a giant pop-up mural with artist Christopher McFarlane, and create fun and colorful sun visors.

— jennifer jhon, South Florida Parenting, "Best events for kids this weekend: Free museum day, fun fests," 19 July 2017
Sliding visors (with lighted mirrors) are a little slim to catch the evening or early sun and there’s a gap in coverage at the windshield pillars.

— mark maynard, sandiegouniontribune.com, "2018 Audi Q5 2.0T quattro S tronic," 14 July 2017
A full-color, 80-degree HD augmented reality view of the track is projected onto the visor.

— jonathan m. gitlin, Ars Technica, "The augmented reality racing helmet is finally here (sort of) thanks to Acura," 10 July 2017

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'visor.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

Illustration of visor

Origin and Etymology of visor

Middle English viser, from Anglo-French, from vis face — more at visage

NEW! Time Traveler

First Known Use: 14th century

See Words from the same year

visor Synonyms

Synonyms

bill, brim, peak

Related Words

shade

Other Clothing Terms

babushka, brogue, bumbershoot, cravat, dishabille, furbelow, layette, raiment, spectator

VISOR Defined for English Language Learners

visor

noun

Definition of visor for English Language Learners

: a piece on the front of a helmet that you can pull down to protect your face
: the part of a hat or cap that sticks out in front to protect or shade your eyes
: a flat, stiff piece of material on the inside of a car above the windshield that you can pull down to keep sunlight from shining in your eyes