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• optic
  optic

  adjective

  of or relating to the eye or sight.
• Optic
  Optic

  noun

  a device attached to an inverted bottle for dispensing measured quantities of liquid, such as whisky, gin, etc

optic

American  

[op-tik] / ˈɒp tɪk /

adjective

1. of or relating to the eye or sight.

2. optical.

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noun

1. the eye.

2. a lens of an optical instrument.

Optic ¹ British  

/ ˈɒptɪk /

noun

1. a device attached to an inverted bottle for dispensing measured quantities of liquid, such as whisky, gin, etc

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optic ² British  

/ ˈɒptɪk /

adjective

1. of or relating to the eye or vision

2. a less common word for optical

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noun

1. an informal word for eye 1

optic Scientific  

/ ŏp′tĭk /

1. Relating to or involving the eye or vision.

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Other Word Forms

• interoptic
  adjective
• nonoptic
  adjective
• postoptic
  adjective
• preoptic
  adjective
• suboptic
  adjective

Etymology

Origin of optic

1535–45; < Medieval Latin opticus < Greek optikós, equivalent to opt ( ós ) seen (verbid of ópsesthai to see) + -ikos -ic

Explanation

If you describe something as optic, it has something to do with eyes or vision. Your optic nerve, for example, sends information to your brain from your eyes. You'll most often find the adjective optic in anatomy or biology textbooks, describing the parts of an eye, or disorders involving the eye. Your optic disc is a tiny blind spot that all humans have on their eyeballs, and optic neuritis is an inflammation of the optic nerve. When it's a noun, optic is an old-fashioned, jokey way to say "eyeball." Optic comes from the Greek optikos, "of or having to do with sight."

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

optic Optic

They also installed advanced sensors that can detect movement up to one-billionth of a meter by using fiber optic cables that can extend or compress if any ground deformation occurs.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 14, 2026

They only detect approaching drones which use known frequencies for navigation, but machines relying on fibre optic cables or new frequencies are invisible to them.

From BBC ● May 31, 2026

The authors suggested that high dose Wegovy may increase the risk of reduced blood supply to the optic nerve through mechanisms involving blood pressure drops, fluid loss, and instability in the autonomic nervous system.

From Science Daily ● May 23, 2026

Nonetheless, Dominion’s Virginia-focused service zone is a hot commodity—and is home to the world’s largest concentration of data centers External link, thanks to the location of fiber optic hook-ups and relatively inexpensive land.

From Barron's ● May 16, 2026

But she knew that even if the knives were not poised above her optic nerve, she would attend to her nephews only out of duty.

From "Atonement" by Ian McEwan

An analysis by Howe Wang at Frontier Optic, a market intelligence firm, tracked a cohort of 568 startups, a group meant to reflect the universe of independent, commercial, venture-backed defense companies with contracts.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 20, 2026

Fiber Optic Solutions, which produces fiber optic gyroscopes and other equipment, was added in December for its contributions to the Russian military and/or defense industrial base.

From Reuters ● Jun. 12, 2023

Many in the industry are setting up educational programs to train people to work with the fiber, said Jim Hayes, the president of the Santa Monica, California-based Fiber Optic Association.

From Seattle Times ● Apr. 13, 2022

After all, the Frenchman has spent the better part of two decades in Southern California; it’s there he built a career designing eyewear for labels like Spy Optic and Arnette.

From New York Times ● Jul. 8, 2021

Struggling to remove an especially difficult cover, I wondered if the same Liberty paint was used on the campus, or if this "Optic White" was something made exclusively for the government.

From "Invisible Man" by Ralph Ellison