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.
Lumentum and fellow optical networking play Coherent declined 9% and 5.1%, respectively.
From Barron's • May 18, 2026
The narrow and stable light emission could also improve optical communications systems by reducing interference and allowing larger amounts of data to travel more clearly and efficiently.
From Science Daily • May 18, 2026
The new material also outperformed earlier generations of optical energy-storage switches.
From Science Daily • May 15, 2026
That’s because optical connections are increasingly replacing copper-based ones in data centers.
From MarketWatch • May 15, 2026
He knew, for example, that it was called paramnesia, and he was interested as well in such corollary optical phenomena as jamais vu, never seen, and presque vu, almost seen.
From "Catch-22" by Joseph Heller
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.
