Myopia

Myopia (Greek: μυωπία, muōpia, from myein "to shut" + ops (gen. opos) "eye"), commonly known as being nearsighted (American English) and shortsighted (British English). A condition of the eye where the light that comes in does not directly focus on the retina but in front of it. This causes the image that one sees when looking at a distant object to be out of focus but in focus when looking at a close object.

Eye care professionals most commonly correct myopia through the use of corrective lenses, such as glasses or contact lenses. It may also be corrected by refractive surgery, though there are cases of associated side effects. The corrective lenses have a negative optical power (i.e. are concave) which compensates for the excessive positive diopters of the myopic eye.