opera glass
nounDefinition of opera glass
: a small low-power binocular without prisms for use at the opera or theater
—often used in plural
Illustration of opera glass
Examples of opera glass in a Sentence
Recent Examples on the Web
Eager to try out daguerrotypy, a photography method that had been invented just two months prior, Cornelius set up a large box camera with a lens fashioned from a pair of opera glasses, according to the Library of Congress. — Scottie Andrew And Brian Ries, CNN, "Long before Ellen and Kim, there was Robert Cornelius. He took the world's first selfie nearly 180 years ago.," 21 June 2019 The black enameled opera glasses were recently acquired by M.S. Rau Antiques, a shop on the French Quarter's Royal Street. — Fox News, "New Orleans gallery acquires Lincoln opera glasses," 28 Sep. 2018 The magenta curtains were elegantly poised as if concertgoers were attending a proper theatrical performance begging to be seen through opera glasses. — Heran Mamo, Billboard, "P!nk Sings 'Just a Girl' With Gwen Stefani & 6 More Highlights From LA Concert," 1 June 2018 Also among the Annenberg show’s 440 images is an 1839 self-portrait by Robert Cornelius, who built a camera with a box and lens from a pair of opera glasses to create an early selfie. — Steve Appleford, latimes.com, "From 14 million photos in the Library of Congress, she chose 440 to tell the story of America," 18 May 2018 Each reached inside their jackets — Key for a pair of opera glasses to hurl at the advancing lawmaker, and Sickles for a Derringer. — Robert Mitchell, Washington Post, "‘Temporarily insane’: A congressman, a sensational killing and a new legal defense," 3 Mar. 2018 The downside to that basic, spy-in-the-stands technique is that the risk of discovery is high; opera glasses are pretty well-camouflaged at the opera but tend to stick out in the grandstand. — Steven Goldman, Slate Magazine, "Let’s marvel at the deep stupidity of the Red Sox’s sign-stealing scheme.," 7 Sep. 2017 Contemporary guidebooks warned European tourists against sharing their opera glasses with Egyptians, implying that the simple act of borrowing binoculars could result in disease. — Peter Schwartzstein, Smithsonian, "How an Alcohol-Hating English Preacher Founded Global Tourism," 24 Apr. 2017These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'opera glass.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Keep scrolling for more