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

Before AI, technology known as optical character recognition could scan documents into a digital format.

From Barron's

It said the early part of the year will be affected by supply shortages, especially in optical components, and the readiness of customers to install equipment.

From Barron's

These capabilities are especially valuable for advanced optical devices and metamaterials.

From Science Daily

Doing something your brain tells you is structurally impossible was like inhabiting an optical illusion and we all laughed as we scaled the multi-tiered falls with the occasional assistance of a tethered rope.

From The Wall Street Journal

These radio signals carried clear evidence of gas that the star expelled only a few years before the explosion -- information that cannot be captured with optical telescopes alone.

From Science Daily