Skip to main content
eye strain

eye strain

1 3.2
Eyes that feel tired or sore after looking at screens for too long
  • noun
  • /aɪ streɪn/
translation icon : fatiga ocular
  • Many people experience eye strain after staring at their computer screens for too long.
  • suffer from eye strain
  • causes eye strain

There's also some claims that blue light can affect your eye strain.

Autoplay Next

Examples

  • The standard remedy for this kind of eye strain is to look at a distant object.

    Academic text (1996)
  • Don't you get eye strain reading law books?

  • It's coming out soon, but I can tell you, at least for people with eye strain, this might be a really good option.

  • I got eye strain, and the doctor said no movies.

    Fiction book (1999)
  • Iz is getting reading glasses to deal with eye strain, but her doctor is also going to have her do eye exercises.

    Blog text (10)
  • An e-reader just doesn't cause the same level of eye strain as other types of screens do.

  • A high-quality lighting system will reduce eye strain and will keep your employees feeling refreshed rather than tired and headachy.

    Blog text (14)
  • However, getting up and away from your desk for just 5 minutes can alleviate eye strain and reduce fatigue in addition to making you feel better.

    Blog text (7)
  • Con: Digital textbooks create eye strain. Glare and the resulting eye strain is a common complaint among e-reader users.

    Blog text (22)
  • Back problems, eye strain, and repetitive strain injury (RSI) are but a few of the health hazards we face as web developers.

    Blog text (11)

Synonyms

eyestrain
vseye strain
2 3.1

Tired or uncomfortable eyes after long close work such as reading and using screens

is the same meaning but written as two words rather than one
asthenopia
vseye strain
  • Specialized
9.9

Eyes that feel tired and uncomfortable after long close work like reading or using a computer

is the everyday nontechnical way to describe the same fatigue

How Strained

eye strain
1 3.2

Surface Forms

eye strain singular
eye strains plural

Morphology

eye + strain

The meaning is directly and transparently derived from 'eye' (the organ of vision) + 'strain' (tension, fatigue), i.e. tension or fatigue affecting the eyes. This compound follows a common cross-linguistic pattern (equivalents exist in many languages) and would be predictable to a B1 learner who knows both constituent words.

Etymology

The phrase eye strain comes from the image of the eye under strain, like a muscle or rope being pulled too hard. When you look at small text or screens for a long time your eyes feel stretched and tired, so it means 'discomfort or tired eyes'.