What does "viewfinder" mean?

A device on a camera that shows what will appear in the field of view of the lens; it helps the user target a subject, zoom and focus the image.

What is a synonym for "viewfinder"?

Common synonyms include: equipment, finder, finder, photographic equipment, sight, view finder.

Pronounced //ˈvjuːfaɪndə(ɹ)//.

//ˈvjuːfaɪndə(ɹ)// noun

noun ·Rare ·Advanced level

Noun

1
A device on a camera that shows what will appear in the field of view of the lens; it helps the user target a subject, zoom and focus the image.
2
optical device that helps a user to find the target of interest wordnet

"He looked through the viewfinder, zoomed in and panned across the area."

From view + finder.

Data sourced from Wiktionary, WordNet, CMU, and other open linguistic databases. Updated March 2026.