Noun

(es)

An object, usually made of glass, that focuses or defocuses the light that passes through it.

* {{quote-magazine, year=2013, month=July-August, author= Catherine Clabby

, magazine=(American Scientist), title= Focus on Everything , passage=Not long ago, it was difficult to produce photographs of tiny creatures with every part in focus. That’s because the lenses that are excellent at magnifying tiny subjects produce a narrow depth of field.}}

A device which focuses or defocuses electron beams.

(geometry) A convex shape bounded by two circular arcs, joined at their endpoints, the corresponding concave shape being a lune.

(biology) A genus of the legume family; its bean.

(anatomy) The transparent crystalline structure in the eye.

* {{quote-magazine, year=2013, month=July-August, author= Fenella Saunders, magazine=(American Scientist)

, title= Tiny Lenses See the Big Picture , passage=The single-imaging optic of the mammalian eye offers some distinct visual advantages. Such lenses can take in photons from a wide range of angles, increasing light sensitivity. They also have high spatial resolution, resolving incoming images in minute detail.}}

(by extension, figuratively) A way of looking, literally or figuratively, at something.

* 2004 April 11, Ann Hulbert, "Are the Kids All Right?", in (The New York Times Magazine) , page 11:

If "the public looks at the condition of America's children largely through a negative lens ," worries Child Trends promote child well-being."

Noun

(en noun)

Any person or thing that diffuses.

A device designed to diffuse a scent efficiently.

* {{quote-news, year=2009, date=February 28, author=Rita Zekas, title=DecoRita visits West Elm, work=Toronto Star citation

, passage=They are in the under-$20 section, which includes a display of scented candles and diffusers . }}

(optics) Any device that or spreads out or scatters light, making the light appear softer.

* {{quote-news, year=2008, date=January 24, author=, title=In a Town Known for Light, a House With Very Little, work=New York Times citation

, passage=Along the sofa every three and a half feet, fluorescent tubes glow through translucent plastic diffusers . }}

(automotive) A shaped section of a car's underbody which improves the car's aerodynamic properties.

(thermodynamics) A mechanical device that is designed to control the characteristics of a fluid at the entrance to a thermodynamic open system.

(sewage treatment) An aerating device consisting of a membrane with fine pores, through which air is blown to generate small bubbles.

(cooking) A cooking item that can be placed above a stove heating element or burner to separate the cooking utensil from the heat source.

A hairdryer attachment that diffuses the flow of air.