Synonyms

viewfinder

American

[vyoo-fahyn-der] / ˈvjuˌfaɪn dər /

noun

Photography.

finder.

viewfinder British

/ ˈvjuːˌfaɪndə /

noun

Sometimes shortened to: finder. a device on a camera, consisting of a lens system and sometimes a ground-glass screen, enabling the user to see what will be included in his photograph

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Etymology

Origin of viewfinder

First recorded in 1890–95; view + finder

Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

See Examples For:

viewfinder

Whilst firefighters shouted for everybody to run away, Berriff said he "stayed there, looking through the small viewfinder on my camera to see 250,000 tonnes of metal and girders hurtling towards me".

From BBC ● Sep. 11, 2026

Was he so concerned with capturing his son’s malaise that he missed details he might’ve seen if one eye weren’t looking through the viewfinder?

From Salon ● Jul. 24, 2026

Of this, he was sure: “I had the camera on him and I mean I saw everything through the viewfinder.’

From Seattle Times ● Jun. 1, 2024

That day, something exciting appeared on the viewfinder of Gauna's drone camera.

From Science Daily ● Jan. 29, 2024

He raised the camera so that those in the very front of the audience could see the viewfinder.

From "Hoot" by Carl Hiaasen

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Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023