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binoculars

binoculars

2.8
A pair of small tubes with lenses you hold to see far things with both eyes
  • noun
  • /bɪˈnɒkjʊlərz/
translation icon : binoculares
  • I mean, one can't call oneself an ornithologist and not have binoculars as the main tool.

You can see it with binoculars at night.

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Examples

  • She used her binoculars to spot the rare bird high in the tree.

  • You can see it with binoculars at night.

  • Wait so this is like binoculars for small things?

  • The children took their binoculars to the park to watch the kite festival.

  • During the hike, he brought binoculars to get a closer look at the distant mountains.

Synonyms

bino
vsbinoculars
  • Informal
1 9.3

A small tool you hold to see things far away with both eyes

is the neutral standard term instead of the casual short name
field glasses
vsbinoculars
1 3.3

A pair of binoculars used to see far things outdoors

is the general term for the same device regardless of outdoor design
optical instrument
vsbinoculars
  • Specialized
1 4.1

A device with lenses or mirrors that helps you see things clearly

is a specific device for viewing distant objects with both eyes
binocs
vsbinoculars
  • Informal
8.4

A small tool you hold to see far things, like birds or mountains

is the neutral standard term rather than the casual name

How Powerful

observatory
  • Specialized
47 5.9
telescope
440 3.3
spyglass
5 7.6
binoculars
2.8
monocular
1 7.3

Surface Forms

binoculars plural

Morphology

binoculars = binocular (transparent) = bi + ocular + s

The plural is formed by a regular '-s' from the singular 'binocular', and the singular itself transparently combines 'bi-' (two) + 'ocular' (relating to the eye).

Etymology

The word binoculars comes from bi- meaning 'two' and ocular meaning 'eye', from the Latin oculus. Think of bicycle, which also uses bi- for 'two'; binoculars let both eyes work together to see far away, so they are tools for using two eyes to see distant things.