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

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

Yet detractors say that health boards’ reliance on expert opinions creates a blind spot to constituents’ wants. —Cameron Pugh, The Christian Science Monitor, 30 Dec. 2024

And in focusing so heavily on that selling point, the Democrats created for themselves blind spots that ignored and the aggressive pushback against Diversity, Equity & Inclusion (DEI) from the far Right, who connected Harris to those initiatives. —Dan Perry, Newsweek, 26 Nov. 2024

Allocate a limited budget to hire skills that compensate for blind spots and quickly build transformation momentum. —Phillimon Zongo, Forbes, 27 Dec. 2024

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