The words lense and lens are commonly confused amongst new and experienced writers a like. But which spelling is correct?
In this post, we will compare these two spellings & explain why lens is the correct spelling. Read on to learn the spelling, definition, part of speech and popularity of the word lens.
Which Spelling Is Correct: Lense or Lens?
The correct spelling is lens. A lens is a component of a camera. More specifically, it is a curved piece of glass that is used to focus or disperse light & take quality photographs. There are several different types of lenses.
- Camera Lens
- Hunting Scope Lens
- Binocular Lens
- Telescope Lens
The spelling lense is incorrect and a common misspelling. Lense is not a proper spelling in any form of the English grammar & is most commonly a typographical mistake.
We know from our analysis of the words Vender & Vendor that writers often use the wrong spelling when words are pronounced similarly. Pay close attention to spelling to avoid making distracting mistakes.
How To Use Lens
The word lens can be used correctly in many different contexts. The most common use case is to describe a type of optical device (i.e. A camera lens).
- I cleaned my camera lens before taking the photographs.
Lens can also be used in a metaphorical sense. This is very popular in non-fiction and other forms of literary works.
- The novel offers a unique lens through which we can view society.
Finally, the words lens or lenses can be used in a scientific context to describe a type of scientific equipment.
- In astronomy, telescopes use lenses to gather and focus light.
Sentence Examples
Here is a list of 5 example sentences that demonstrate the proper use of the word lens.
- I have been able to see much better after putting in my contact lens.
- Should I buy a macro lens or a small lens for my new Sony camera?
- I often use a wide angle lens to capture the entire background in my photographs.
- John’s eyeglasses had a scratch on the lens, causing his vision to be slightly blurry.
- The artist’s paintings were inspired by the world as seen through the lens of her imagination.
However, just like we saw in our post about boxes or boxs you need to pay attention to determine the correct singular or plural form of a word.
How To Use Lense
The word “lense” is not considered a standard or correct spelling in English. The correct spelling of the word is “lens.”
- Correct: The photographer carefully attached a wide-angle lens to capture the breathtaking landscape
- Incorrect: The photographer carefully attached a wide-angle lense to capture the breathtaking landscape
- Correct: The scientist examined the specimen under a microscope lens, revealing intricate details.
- Incorrect: The scientist examined the specimen under a microscope lense, revealing intricate details.
How To Pronounce The Word Lens
The word “lens” is pronounced as [lenz]. Here is a phonetic breakdown of the pronunciation.
- “L” sounds like the letter “el”
- “E” sounds like the short “eh” sound
- “N” sounds like the letter “en”
- “S” sounds like the letter “es”
What Part Of Speech Is The Word Lens?
The word “lens” is a singular noun. A noun is a word that represents a person, place, thing, or idea.
What Is The Plural Form Of Lens?
The plural form of the word lens is lenses. When referring to more than one lens, you would use the plural form “lenses”. Here are some sentence examples that demonstrate how to use the word lenses.
- I need to clean my camera lenses.
- She wears prescription lenses in her eyeglasses.
- I use my contact lenses on days I need to drive to work.
How Popular Is The Word Lens?
By reviewing the Google Ngram Viewer data we can see the word lens is frequently used in the English language. Additionally, we can tell that the singular form is far more popular of the plural form of the word lens. We also saw a similar pattern when analyzing the words Tomatoes & Tomatos in a previous article.
Frequently Asked Questions
Lens is the correct spelling in British English. Although both lens and lense are similar spellings, they are not the same.
No, there are no situations that the spelling lense should be used. This is not a proper word and should not be used in any context.
People most commonly use the spelling lense out of error. They make a simple typo mistake by adding the -E at the end of the word.
The Bottom Line
By now you should be an expert of the difference between the words lens and lense. The only one correct spelling is lens. As we mentioned, this noun can be used in many different contexts but is most commonly used to describe a component inside a camera. If you need additional spelling help, consider using our Grammar Checking Device to make things easy for you!