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20/20 for Dummies

noun


What does 20/20 really mean?

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Hey there! So, you know that sometimes when you go to the eye doctor, they ask you to read those big letters on the chart? Well, when we talk about "20/20," we're actually talking about something called "visual acuity." Visual acuity is the ability of our eyes to see clearly and sharply.

When we see something, light bounces off it and enters our eyes. It then goes through a part of our eyes called the lens, which focuses the light onto something called the retina. The retina is like a screen at the back of our eyes that sends messages to our brain, allowing us to see.

Now, the term "20/20" is used to measure our visual acuity. The first number, which is "20," represents the distance between you and the eye chart when you're taking the test. In most cases, it's about 20 feet away. The second number, also "20," refers to the smallest letter size that a person with "normal" vision should be able to read from that distance.

So, when we say someone has "20/20" vision, it means that they have what we consider "normal" vision. They can see the letters on the eye chart as clearly from that 20-feet distance as most people can. It's like having a very sharp picture on a TV screen, where you can see all the details.

Now, some people may have different visual acuity than 20/20. For example, if someone has "20/40" vision, it means they can see at 20 feet what a person with "normal" vision can see from 40 feet. It's like looking at a picture on a TV screen from farther away, where the details start to get a little fuzzy.

So, that's the basic idea behind "20/20" vision. It's all about how clearly and sharply we can see things from a certain distance. I hope that makes sense! Let me know if you have any other questions.

Revised and Fact checked by Michael Johnson on 2023-10-27 22:17:31

20/20 In a sentece

Learn how to use 20/20 inside a sentece

  • When you look at the eye chart at the doctor's office and you can read the smallest line of letters without any problem, your vision is said to be 20/20.
  • If a baseball player hits the ball and it goes far, we can say they have 20/20 vision because they can see the ball very clearly.
  • When you get a test back from your teacher and you answered all the questions correctly, you can say you got a 20/20 score.
  • If you are watching a movie and all the pictures on the screen are very clear and detailed, you can say the picture quality is 20/20.
  • Imagine you draw a picture of a tree and all the lines are straight and perfect, we can say your drawing has 20/20 symmetry.

20/20 Synonyms

Words that can be interchanged for the original word in the same context.

20/20 Hypernyms

Words that are more generic than the original word.