blind spot

noun

1

a

: the small circular area at the back of the retina where the optic nerve enters the eyeball and which is devoid of rods and cones and is not sensitive to light

called also optic disc

see eye illustration

b

: a portion of a field that cannot be seen or inspected with available equipment

2

: an area in which one fails to exercise judgment or discrimination

Examples of blind spot in a Sentence

When driving on the highway, you need to make sure no one is in your blind spot before changing lanes.

She has a blind spot concerning her son's behavior.

Recent Examples on the Web

Users must also know what blind spots these tools have. —Michael Meucci, Forbes, 16 Jan. 2025

Drivers who want to check their blind spots will need to use two screens embedded at either end of the long piece of glass that spans the length of the dashboard. —Andrew J. Hawkins, The Verge, 9 Jan. 2025

Arsenal’s attacking setup started from the back post to attack United’s zonal defenders from their blind spot and frame the in-swinging cross. —Ahmed Walid, The Athletic, 2 Jan. 2025

Find blind spots in the monitoring—sources of data missing due to infrastructure drift, latency or resource bottlenecks. —Venkatadri Marella, Forbes, 2 Jan. 2025

Word History

First Known Use

1829, in the meaning defined at sense 1a

Kids Definition

blind spot

noun

1

a

: a point in the retina through which the optic nerve enters and which does not respond to light

b

: a part of an area that cannot be seen with available equipment

2

: an area of weakness (as in judgment)

Medical Definition

blind spot

noun

: the small circular area in the retina where the optic nerve enters the eye that is devoid of rods and cones and is insensitive to light

called also optic disc