Meanings
nounbifocals pl (plural only)
- pluralplural onlySpectacles that have corrective lenses of two different powers; used by people who need both distance and reading glasses.
He unfolded a pair of bifocals and thrust them as far up the bridge of his nose as possible.
2002, Zadie Smith, The Autograph Man, Penguin Books (2003), page 116
Origin
From bi- + focal (see focus), coined in 1824 by John Isaac Hawkins, inventor of trifocals. When the concept of bifocals was originally conceived by Benjamin Franklin, he called them double spectacles.
Full word history & related roots →Translations
Chinese Mandarin 雙光眼鏡 /双光眼镜
- 雙光眼鏡 /双光眼镜spectacles with two different powers
Finnish kaksiteholasit
- kaksiteholasitspectacles with two different powers
French verres bifocaux, verres double foyer
- verres bifocauxspectacles with two different powers
- verres double foyerspectacles with two different powers
German Bifokalbrille, Zweistärkenbrille
- Bifokalbrillespectacles with two different powers
- Zweistärkenbrillespectacles with two different powers
Polish okulary dwuogniskowe
- okulary dwuogniskowespectacles with two different powers
Cite this entry
APA
bifocals. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 3, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/bifocals
MLA
“bifocals.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/bifocals. Accessed November 3, 2026.
Chicago
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “bifocals,” accessed November 3, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/bifocals.
Source: bifocals on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.