phoropter

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noun

An instrument used in eye examinations to determine an individual's prescription, the patient looking through various lenses at a chart on the other side.

Scrabble 16
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Meanings

nounphoropter (plural phoropters)

plural phoropters

  1. An instrument used in eye examinations to determine an individual's prescription, the patient looking through various lenses at a chart on the other side.

    Testing includes using a pen or finger to test for the “near point of convergence,” as well as a phoropter, which uses lenses and prisms to test the eyes’ ability to work together.

    2007 September 11, Laura Novak, “Not Autistic or Hyperactive. Just Seeing Double at Times”, in New York Times

Origin

From a trademark.

Full word history & related roots →

Translations

Italian foroptero
  • foropteroinstrument used in eye examinations to determine an individual's prescription
Cite this entry
APA

phoropter. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 3, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/phoropter

MLA

“phoropter.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/phoropter. Accessed November 3, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “phoropter,” accessed November 3, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/phoropter.

Source: phoropter on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.