optical
Americanadjective
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of, relating to, or applying optics or the principles of optics.
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constructed to assist sight or to correct defects in vision.
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of or relating to sight or vision; visual.
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of or relating to the eye.
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of or relating to an optician or opticians or to their products, especially eyeglasses.
an optical service.
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dealing with or skilled in optics.
noun
adjective
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of, relating to, producing, or involving light
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of or relating to the eye or to the sense of sight; optic
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(esp of a lens) aiding vision or correcting a visual disorder
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Relating to vision or the eyes.
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Relating to optics.
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Relating to or using visible light.
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of optical
Explanation
Anything that's optical has something to do with sight. You could call your glasses an optical aid, since they help you see things more clearly. Optical assistance comes in many forms, from glasses and contacts to binoculars and telescopes. All of these optical devices help magnify or clarify your vision. Using a big telescope to view the stars is known as optical astronomy, as opposed to the kind of astronomy that's practiced using radio signals or math. An optical illusion is a trick played on your eyes, when what they perceive is different from what is actually there.
Vocabulary lists containing optical
Common Senses: Op, Ops, Opt ("Sight")
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Workshop 1, Part 1
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Punching the Air
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
The team also used the extreme localization of the narwhal-shaped wavefunctions to create a new near-field scanning optical microscopy technique called the singular optical microscope.
From Science Daily • May 21, 2026
The AI eyewear will launch this fall in several optical and sunglass styles, per the announcement made during Google’s I/O event.
From Barron's • May 19, 2026
Management said that the optical space offers a multibillion-dollar opportunity, which would come on top of its existing connectivity business.
From MarketWatch • May 19, 2026
The two optical networking stocks sank Monday as sentiment was being hit both by high bond yields and news that prominent AI investor Leopold Aschenbrenner exited positions in Lumentum and Coherent in the first quarter.
From Barron's • May 19, 2026
The stairs curve and stretch toward an unseen bottom floor, so tall and disorienting that it looks like an optical illusion.
From "Kwame Crashes the Underworld" by Craig Kofi Farmer
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
