Eyeglasses are a tool worn on your face to help you see more clearly. They consist of two glass or plastic lenses held in a frame that sits on your nose and hooks over your ears. Each lens is specially shaped to correct how light enters your eye, fixing problems like blurriness when looking at distant objects or difficulty reading small print.

People have been wearing eyeglasses for over 700 years. The first ones appeared in Italy around 1290, and for centuries they were expensive items only wealthy people could afford. Today, more than half of all Americans wear eyeglasses or contact lenses (which do the same job but sit directly on the surface of your eye).

An eye doctor determines what kind of lenses you need by testing your vision. Some people are nearsighted and can see things close to them but not far away, like the board at school. Others are farsighted and have the opposite problem. Some people need eyeglasses only for reading, while others wear them all day long.

You might also hear eyeglasses called glasses or spectacles. When the sun is bright, people wear sunglasses, which are eyeglasses with dark lenses that protect eyes from harmful rays and reduce glare.