bifocals

bifocals means spectacles that have corrective lenses of two different powers; used by people who need both distance and reading glasses.

Etymology

From bi- + focal (see focus), coined in 1824 by John Isaac Hawkins, inventor of trifocals. When the concept of bifocals was originally conceived by Benjamin Franklin, he called them double spectacles.

noun

Spectacles that have corrective lenses of two different powers; used by people who need both distance and reading glasses.e.g.“He unfolded a pair of bifocals and thrust them as far up the bridge of his nose as possible.” — 2002, Zadie Smith, The Autograph Man, Penguin Books (2003), page 116:

Definitions & examples from Wiktionary (CC BY-SA 3.0).

Words closest in meaning

By meaning, not spelling — each word's AI semantic fingerprint, nearest first.

trifocals 78% match — Spectacles with corrective lenses that have three different powers per eye. vs bifocals →
bifocal 77% match — Having two focal lengths. vs bifocals →
bifocaled 77% match — wearing bifocals vs bifocals →
bifocality 71% match — The quality of being bifocal. vs bifocals →
varifocals 71% match — Spectacles having varifocal lenses. vs bifocals →
cheaters 58% match — Spectacles that magnify: reading glasses; often, the inexpensive nonprescription kind. vs bifocals →
bespectacled 58% match — Wearing spectacles (glasses). vs bifocals →
readers 57% match — Reading glasses vs bifocals →