compound eye

noun

: an eye (as of an insect) made up of many separate visual units

Examples of compound eye in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web
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Their compound eyes were likely capable of detecting changes in light within the murky depths. Scott Travers, Forbes, 12 Dec. 2024 The compound eye found in most insects is made up of a few to thousands of individual units called ommatidia, and each ommatidium includes a rhabdom, a transparent structure under the lens, which stores photosensitive pigments known as opsins that are used for detecting colors. Smithsonian Magazine, Smithsonian Magazine, 21 Nov. 2024 Zayn Malik Postpones Shows, Cowell And Cole React The shrimp’s compound eyes (ours are only simple—they aren’t made up of other eyes like compound eyes are) are also set on stalks that can move independently of each other, which gives them a nearly 360-degree view of their surroundings. Scott Travers, Forbes, 20 Oct. 2024 The data group is developing a compound eye in computer. Richard Meng, Forbes, 7 Oct. 2024 Though soft tissue was not preserved, spherical outlines suggest an eye on each side of the head, though whether these were compound eyes is unknown. Elizabeth Rayne, Ars Technica, 11 Aug. 2024 In recent decades, researchers have discovered impressive navigation skills in various birds, in seals, even in a few insects — the latter of which have low-resolution compound eyes. Cody Cottier, Discover Magazine, 1 Apr. 2024 The compound eyes of an insect are structurally very different from that of a human—almost a separate category of organ altogether from the more familiar ocular arrangement of lens, cornea, iris, and retina. IEEE Spectrum, 24 Nov. 2023 Biologists now think that a sea urchin’s entire body functions as one big compound eye, where photosensitive tissue inside the exoskeleton picks up light that’s filtered by the radiating spines. Eliza Strickland, Discover Magazine, 8 Feb. 2010

Word History

First Known Use

1836, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of compound eye was in 1836

Dictionary Entries Near compound eye

Cite this Entry

“Compound eye.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/compound%20eye. Accessed 23 Dec. 2024.

Kids Definition

compound eye

noun
: an eye (as of an insect) made up of many separate visual units

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