- a large waterfall or rapids
- a deluge; downpour
- partial or total opacity of the crystalline lens of the eye
- the opaque area
WordReference Random House Learner's Dictionary of American English © 2026
cat•a•ract /ˈkætəˌrækt/USA pronunciation
n. [countable]
WordReference Random House Unabridged Dictionary of American English © 2026- a descent of water over a steep surface.
- Ophthalmologyan abnormal growth on the lens of the eye:to remove cataracts by laser surgery.
cat•a•ract
(kat′ə rakt′),USA pronunciation n.
cat′a•rac′tal, cat′a•rac′tous, adj.
cat′a•ract′ed, adj.
- a descent of water over a steep surface;
a waterfall, esp. one of considerable size. - any furious rush or downpour of water;
deluge. - Ophthalmology
- an abnormality of the eye, characterized by opacity of the lens.
- the opaque area.
- Greek katarráktēs waterfall, floodgate, portcullis (noun, nominal), downrushing (adjective, adjectival), akin to katarássein to dash down, equivalent. to kat- cata- + arássein to smite
- Latin catar(r)acta
- Middle English cataracte 1350–1400
cat′a•ract′ed, adj.
Collins Concise English Dictionary © HarperCollins Publishers::
cataract /ˈkætəˌrækt/ n
'cataract' also found in these entries (note: many are not synonyms or translations):
Aswan
- couch
- fall
- cryoextraction
- discission
- intraocular lens
- opacity
- overfalls
- phacoemulsification
- plunge basin