visor

Meanings

1. 1nouncountable

   A movable part of a helmet that can be pulled down to protect the face.

   Grammar: Countable: one visor, two visors. Often used with verbs like 'raise', 'lower', 'lift'.

   Patterns

   • raise the visor
   • lower the visor
   • a helmet with a visor

   The knight raised his visor to speak to the king.

   Make sure your visor is down before you start fencing.

2. 2nouncountable

   The stiff front part of a cap that sticks out to shade the eyes.

   Grammar: Countable; often used in compounds like 'visor cap' or 'sun visor'.

   Patterns

   • wear a visor
   • a cap with a visor
   • adjust the visor

   She wore a white visor to keep the sun out of her eyes.

   He turned his visor to the side to block the glare.

3. 3nouncountable

   A flat panel above the windshield in a car that can be pulled down to block sunlight.

   Grammar: Countable; often called 'sun visor' in this sense.

   Patterns

   • pull down the visor
   • flip up the visor
   • the sun visor

   She pulled down the visor to block the bright morning sun.

   The visor on the driver's side was broken and hung loose.

Word forms

Common combinations

sun visor

He flipped down the sun visor as he drove west.

helmet visor

The motorcycle helmet visor was scratched and needed replacing.

raise a visor

The astronaut raised her visor and smiled for the camera.

visor cap

The tennis player wore a visor cap to keep her hair back.

Synonyms and how they differ

brim

The projecting edge of a hat; a visor is a stiff brim, often on a cap or helmet.

shield

A broad protective barrier; a visor is a specific face or eye shield.

Word family

visorless adjective

Without a visor, as in a visorless helmet.

Commonly confused: visor or vizor?

Practice

Make it your own

Write a sentence using “visor”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.

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