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sun visor

sun visor

1 2.3
A flap above a car window you pull down to stop sunlight from your eyes
  • noun
  • /sʌn ˈvaɪzər/
translation icon : parasol
  • She pulls the sun visor down to arrange her platinum blond wig in the mirror and put on fresh lipstick.
  • flip down the sun visor
  • pull down the sun visor

We may bring down the sun visor or put on sunglasses and in most cases we slow down.

Examples

  • Lefty, nervous, pulls down the sun visor.

    Fiction book (1997)
  • His head was a green helmet; his eyes were covered by a sun visor.

    Fiction book (1999)
  • Frank put down the sun visor.

    Fiction book (1993)
  • Pull the mirror down on the sun visor.

    Fiction book (1990)
  • I have a letter from my parents attached to the sun visor of my car that I read when I need motivation.

    Blog text (10)
  • I'd flip the sun visor down and gaze up at myself in the mirror.

    Fiction book (2002)
  • Val flips down the truck's sun visor.

    Fiction book (1990)
  • He pulled down the Cortina's sun visor, took a pen from his coat pocket, and scrawled 'To The Lab.'

    Fiction book (1991)
  • As the bright sun shone through the windshield, she quickly pulled down the sun visor to shield her eyes.

  • He adjusted the sun visor to block the glare while driving on the highway.

Synonyms

visor
vssun visor
12 2.5

A stiff front part of a cap or helmet that shades the eyes from the sun

is attached above a vehicle windshield as a small hinged flap
window shade
vssun visor
  • US
3 2.0

A piece of material you pull down to block light or give privacy at a window

is a small hinged flap above the windshield rather than a roller cover
sunshade
vssun visor
1 2.1

A cover that gives shade from the sun

is attached above the windshield as a hinged blocker rather than a portable canopy
sunblind
vssun visor
1 6.4

A cloth screen that blocks strong sunlight

is a small rigid flap inside a vehicle rather than a fabric screen
visorless
vssun visor
6.5

A hat or helmet that has no visor

has a projecting hinged flap above the windshield rather than lacking a brim

Surface Forms

sun visor singular
sun visors plural

Morphology

sun + visor

The meaning is directly compositional: a 'visor' for the 'sun'—a device that shades or blocks sunlight—so the overall sense is immediately derivable from the constituent words. This compound follows common cross-linguistic patterns (e.g. sunshade/sunvisor equivalents), so a B1 learner who knows 'sun' and 'visor' will readily understand it.

Etymology

Sun visor names the flap above a car's front window that you fold down to stop bright sunlight. The words create a clear image: a visor for the sun, so it means 'a shade you use to block sunlight'.