Ames room

noun

A distorted room designed to be viewed through a pinhole, using a trick of perspective to create an optical illusion so that people standing in opposite corners appear to be of very different sizes.

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Meanings

nounAmes room (plural Ames rooms)

plural Ames rooms

  1. A distorted room designed to be viewed through a pinhole, using a trick of perspective to create an optical illusion so that people standing in opposite corners appear to be of very different sizes.

Origin

Invented by American ophthalmologist Adelbert Ames, Jr. in 1934.

Full word history & related roots →
Cite this entry
APA

Ames room. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 4, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/Ames%20room

MLA

“Ames room.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/Ames%20room. Accessed November 4, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “Ames room,” accessed November 4, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/Ames%20room.

Source: Ames room on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.