optometrist

American

[op-tom-i-trist] / ɒpˈtɒm ɪ trɪst /

noun

a licensed professional who practices optometry.

optometrist British

/ ɒpˈtɒmɪtrɪst /

noun

Also called (esp Brit): ophthalmic optician. a person who is qualified to examine the eyes and prescribe and supply spectacles and contact lenses Compare optician ophthalmologist

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

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:

eye doctor vs. optometrist

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

A semi-retired optometrist and longtime Ventura resident, Kutrosky, 90, is participating in stair-climbing races — fast ascents up high-rise buildings — into his 10th decade.

From Los Angeles Times • Jul. 10, 2025

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

Trout was talking to a Maggie White, who had given up being a dental assistant to become a homemaker for an optometrist.

From "Slaughterhouse-Five" by Kurt Vonnegut

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023