fovea
noun
fo·vea
| \ ˈfō-vē-ə
\
\
plural foveae\ ˈfō-vē-ˌē
, -vē-ˌī \
, -vē-ˌī \
Definition of fovea
1
: a small fossa
2
: a small depression in the center of the macula (see macula sense 2b) that contains only cones and constitutes the area of maximum visual acuity and color discrimination — see eye illustration
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Other Words from fovea
foveal
\ ˈfō-vē-əl
\
adjective
\
adjective
foveate
\ ˈfō-vē-ˌāt
, -ət \
adjective
, -ət \
adjective
Examples of fovea in a Sentence
Recent Examples on the Web
Since that would be rather unwieldy, only one tiny area of the retina—called the fovea—provides this kind of resolution. — Tim Vernimmen, Smithsonian, "Our Eyes Are Always Darting Around, So How Come Our Vision Isn’t Blurry?," 14 June 2019 Those piercing eyes are much like yours, equipped with 3-D vision and a fovea — a centralized concentration of light receptors — the better to focus and track. — Natalie Angier, New York Times, "Birds Beware: The Praying Mantis Wants Your Brain," 22 Sep. 2017 The damage occurs in the fovea, a spot in the retina that is responsible for sharp, central vision. — Rachael Rettner, Scientific American, "Science Says Why We Can't Look at the Sun," 7 July 2017 The ultraviolet light from the sun gets focused from the eye's lens to the center of the retina, called the fovea, Lujan said. — Jessica Greif, OregonLive.com, "Can looking at August's total solar eclipse make you go blind? (video)," 18 May 2017 Located on the opposite side of the lens, the macula includes the region of sharpest vision, the fovea. — Bradley J. Fikes, sandiegouniontribune.com, "Dry macular degeneration stopped with low glycemic index diet in mouse study," 15 May 2017 Larger numbers of photoreceptors and retinal ganglion cells in the fovea — the center part of our eyes — help produce extremely high-res, three-dimensional static images. — Brian_mossop, WIRED, "A Curveball’s Curve? It’s All in Your Head," 19 Oct. 2010These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'fovea.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
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More Definitions for fovea
fovea
noun
fo·vea
| \ ˈfō-vē-ə
\
\
plural foveae\ -vē-ˌē
, -vē-ˌī
\
, -vē-ˌī
\
Medical Definition of fovea
1
: a small fossa
2 or fovea centralis
\ -sen-ˈtral-əs, -ˈträl-, -ˈtrāl- \
: a small depression in the center of the macula that contains only cones and constitutes the area of maximum visual acuity
Other Words from fovea
foveal
\ -vē-əl
\
adjective
\
adjective
foveate
\ -vē-ˌāt
, -ət
\
adjective
, -ət
\
adjective