optometrist
Americannoun
noun
Related Words
See eye doctor.
Etymology
Origin of optometrist
First recorded in 1900–05; optometr(y) + -ist
Compare meaning
How does optometrist compare to similar and commonly confused words? Explore the most common comparisons:
Explanation
An optometrist specializes in testing the eyes and helping correct vision with glasses or contact lenses. If you can’t read anything below the giant E on the doctor's wall chart, don’t worry: an optometrist can help improve how you see. Words starting with "opto-" are related to vision, and an optometrist is trained in finding problems with the eyes and recommending treatment or correction. "Optometry" is the science of studying the eyes or vision, and an optometrist is specialized in this study. Two words that are sometimes confused are optometrist and "optician." While an optometrist is someone who examines and treats the eyes, an "optician" works with the optometrist to make the corrective glasses or contact lenses a patient needs.
Vocabulary lists containing optometrist
Common Senses: Op, Ops, Opt ("Sight")
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Occupations
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Merci Suárez Changes Gears
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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.
Nobody’s screaming at a digital umpire to go to the optometrist.
From The Wall Street Journal • Mar. 26, 2026
“People see before-and-afters and that drives both education and potential insecurity too,” says Dr. Jennifer Tsai, a Manhattan optometrist.
From The Wall Street Journal • Jan. 1, 2026
A month before Law was told he had cataracts in both eyes but he lied to an optometrist that he did not drive.
From BBC • Apr. 18, 2025
The central figure in “The Look of Silence” is Adi Rukun, an optometrist whose older brother was among the slain.
From New York Times • Nov. 29, 2024
When the glasses were ready, we all went down to the optometrist.
From "The Glass Castle" by Jeannette Walls
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.
