Standard Lemma guide

bifocal

adj · 3 senses · updated from the 2026-07-25 local source snapshot

Definitions and examples are grouped by meaning. Pronunciation, history, word forms, translations, descendants, synonyms, antonyms, derived terms, and related words appear whenever the source provides them.

Sound

Pronunciation

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  • CMU ARPABET: B AY1 F OW0 K AH0 L Digits mark lexical stress: 1 primary, 2 secondary, 0 unstressed.

1

adj

Meaning 1

Having two focal lengths.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Usage: not-comparable

Topics: engineering, natural-sciences, optics, physical-sciences, physics

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

2

adj

Meaning 2

Divided into two parts, one of which corrects for distance vision and the other for near vision.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Usage: not-comparable

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

3

adjective satellite

Meaning 3

having two foci

Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0

Examples

  • bifocal eyeglasses

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

History

Etymology

By surface analysis, bi- + focal, or, by surface analysis, bi- + foc(us) + -al.