pair of specs

4.2

Something you wear on your face to help you see

noun
/pɛr əv spɛks/

: gafas

She realized she couldn't read the small print without her pair of specs.

Examples

I always keep a spare pair of specs in my bag, just in case.
It's amazing how much clearer the world seems through a new pair of specs.
After breaking his old pair of specs, he went to the optician for a new one.
I need a new pair of specs!
She bought a stylish pair of specs yesterday.
He put on his pair of specs before reading the small print.
She borrowed a pair of specs from her friend to see the stage clearly.

Synonyms

glasses

vspair of specs

844 1.0

A frame with lenses you wear to help you see

is the informal wording rather than this neutral everyday name

specs

vspair of specs

1 6.9

A pair of glasses you wear to help you see

is the casual phrase rather than a formal or neutral term

spex

vspair of specs

Slang

9.6

Glasses you wear to help you see or read

is the casual phrase rather than a standard or formal name

eyeglasses

vspair of specs

1.0

A pair of lenses in a frame worn on the nose and ears to help you see better

is an informal expression rather than the formal technical name

spectacles

vspair of specs

2.0

A pair of lenses in a frame that you wear on your nose and ears to help you see

is a casual phrase rather than this older or formal label

speccy glasses

vspair of specs

8.2

A pair of glasses worn to look fashionable rather than to correct sight

is the informal term focusing on casual speech not fashion

How Corrective

bifocals

3.9

pair of specs

4.2

Surface Forms

pair of specs singular

pairs of specs plural

Morphology

pair + of + specs

The phrase is compositionally built: 'pair of' signals two matching items and 'specs' (colloquial for spectacles/eyeglasses) names the object, so the overall meaning 'a set of eyeglasses' follows directly from the constituents. Although 'specs' is informal, the grammatical pattern 'pair of + noun' is highly regular and cross-linguistically familiar, making this immediately understandable to learners who know the parts.

Etymology

The term pair of specs comes from the short word specs, a casual form of the old word 'spectacles', and pair points to the two lenses in one frame. So, picturing two small lenses together makes it easy to remember that pair of specs is a casual way to say 'eyeglasses'.