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.
Macdonald says these have been used in the war in Ukraine, where satellite imagery can provide intelligence - for example, spotting a Russian vessel in a Crimean port - when conventional optical cameras cannot.
From BBC ● Oct. 5, 2026
The honour could also go to a new imaging technique, called optical coherence tomography.
From Barron's ● Oct. 5, 2026
Speaking to AFP, Ignat explained that the new turrets, which have been seen by AFP journalists in the Ukrainian capital, use "optical vision and artificial intelligence to eliminate the human factor and deliver strikes".
From Barron's ● Oct. 5, 2026
The system relies on arrays of neutral atoms held in place by tightly focused lasers known as optical tweezers.
From Science Daily ● Oct. 1, 2026
It’s as though we’re all clouds of gas, optical illusions—like how spokes on a spinning bicycle wheel blur invisibly into a solid barrier between hereandthere, thisside and thatside.
From "100 Sideways Miles" by Andrew Smith
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.
