fiber optics

American  

noun

(used with a singular verb)

1. the branch of optics that deals with the transmission of light through transparent fibers, as in the form of pulses for the transmission of data or communications, or through fiber bundles for the transmission of images.

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fiber optics Scientific  

1. Technology based on the use of hair-thin, transparent fibers to transmit light or infrared signals. The fibers are flexible and consist of a core of optically transparent glass or plastic, surrounded by a glass or plastic cladding that reflects the light signals back into the core. Light signals can be modulated to carry almost any other sort of signal, including sounds, electrical signals, and computer data, and a single fiber can carry hundreds of such signals simultaneously, literally at the speed of light. Signals that have weakened after travelling very long distances in the fibers can be optically pumped with lasers, amplifying them without the need to convert them into electrical signals. Optical fibers are relatively inexpensive to manufacture and install when compared with wire cables, and they require very little power and are easily laid out underground. Optical fibers are also used to transmit images focused on one end to the other end through circuitous paths, as in bronchoscopes and colonoscopes used in medical examinations.

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fiber optics Cultural  

1. A technology that uses specially designed bundles of transparent fibers to transmit light.

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Discover More

Some of the applications of fiber optics are in medicine, where it is used to view otherwise inaccessible parts of the body, and in telecommunications, where it is used to transmit data of all types.

Etymology

Origin of fiber optics

First recorded in 1960–65

Example Sentences

That reflects higher capital expenditures: The company has been accelerating its spending on fiber optics, which deliver high-speed internet hookups to U.S. households.

From Barron's • Apr. 23, 2026

In the dot-com era, it was fiber optics, storage and servers.

From MarketWatch • Apr. 15, 2026

Ayar Labs, which is replacing the copper wiring in semiconductors with fiber optics, is valued at $3.8 billion in the deal.

From The Wall Street Journal • Mar. 3, 2026

Now Global Electric is installing fiber optics, lighting and more on Metro’s Purple Line extension project, he said, with contracts totaling about $20 million.

From Los Angeles Times • Jul. 10, 2023

Ashima had never heard of Boston, or of fiber optics.

From "The Namesake" by Jhumpa Lahiri

Related Words

• optical fiber