optical

American  

[op-ti-kuhl] / ˈɒp tɪ kəl /

adjective

1. of, relating to, or applying optics optics or the principles of optics.

2. constructed to assist sight or to correct defects in vision.

3. of or relating to sight or vision; visual.

4. of or relating to the eye.

5. of or relating to an optician or opticians or to their products, especially eyeglasses.

   an optical service.

6. dealing with or skilled in optics.

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noun

1. opticals. optical effects.

optical British  

/ ˈɒptɪkəl /

adjective

1. of, relating to, producing, or involving light

2. of or relating to the eye or to the sense of sight; optic

3. (esp of a lens) aiding vision or correcting a visual disorder

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optical Scientific  

/ ŏp′tĭ-kəl /

1. Relating to vision or the eyes.

2. Relating to optics.

3. Relating to or using visible light.

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Other Word Forms

• nonoptical adjective
• nonoptically adverb
• optically adverb
• suboptical adjective
• suboptically adverb

Etymology

Origin of optical

First recorded in 1560–70; optic + -al ¹

Example Sentences

Two such condensates were separated by a narrow optical barrier formed by a focused laser beam.

From Science Daily

SNSPDs rely on a superconducting wire that can detect individual particles of light, allowing the system to capture extremely weak optical signals at high speed while keeping background noise very low.

From Science Daily

Tesla started with advanced driver-assistance technology for passenger cars that relies on optical cameras.

From Barron's

In addition, delivering light to the brain requires equipment like lasers and optical fibers, which makes experiments more invasive.

From Science Daily

In this process, the weak terahertz signal is converted into optical photons, which can then be detected with immense sensitivity using single-photon counters.

From Science Daily