binocular

[ buh-nok-yuh-ler, bahy- ]

noun

1. Usually binoculars. Also called pair of binoculars, an optical device, providing good depth effect, for use with both eyes, consisting of two small telescopes fitted together side by side, each telescope having two prisms between the eyepiece and objective for erecting the image.

adjective

1. involving both eyes:

   binocular vision.

binocular

/ baɪ-; bɪˈnɒkjʊlə /

adjective

1. involving, relating to, seeing with or intended for both eyes

   binocular vision

binocular

/ bə-nŏk′yə-lər /

Adjective

1. Relating to or involving both eyes at once, as in binocular vision.

Noun

1. An optical device, such as a pair of field glasses, consisting of two small telescopes, designed for use by both eyes at once. Often used in the plural as binoculars.

Other Words From

• bin·ocu·lari·ty noun
• bin·ocu·lar·ly adverb

Word History and Origins

Origin of binocular¹

First recorded in 1705–15; bin- + ocular

Word History and Origins

Origin of binocular¹

C18: from bi- ¹+ Latin oculus eye

Example Sentences

Ms. Rosenberg is easily identifiable thanks to a binocular contraption she straps around her head, which is attached to bifocal lenses that allow her to quickly turn between the judge’s magnified expression and her sketches.

From New York Times

A popular one involves binocular rivalry: if different images are shown to a person’s left and right eye, their conscious perception flips between them.

From Science Magazine

By the end of the month, Mars gives us a binocular treat as it moves through the stars of the loose star cluster known as “The Beehive” in the center of Cancer’s stars.

From Washington Post

The students don’t have smartphones, he says, and “wouldn’t have seen a binocular in real life.”

From Seattle Times

The chances of it being completely corrected would have been much higher if her condition had been caught earlier, said Connolly, chief of pediatric and binocular vision service at Indiana University’s School of Optometry.

From Washington Post