photic
Americanadjective
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of or relating to light.
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pertaining to the generation of light by organisms, or their excitation by means of light.
adjective
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of or concerned with light
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biology of or relating to the production of light by organisms
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Also: photobathic. designating the zone of the sea where photosynthesis takes place
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Of or relating to light.
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Penetrated by or receiving light.
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Relating to the layer of a body of water that is penetrated by sufficient sunlight for photosynthesis. The depth of the photic zone is dependent on the clarity of the water and the amount and intensity of direct sunlight, although it does not usually exceed 200 m.
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Also called euphotic
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Compare aphotic
Etymology
Origin of photic
Vocabulary lists containing photic
Earth Science - Middle School
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Earth Science - High School
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Oceanography - Middle School
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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.
Footage from remotely operated submersibles exploring seafloors far below the photic zone revealed that microbial mats can develop there as well, but they are produced by chemosynthetic bacteria.
From Science Daily • Mar. 8, 2026
The region starts about 1,000 feet down — just beneath the photic zone, which gets enough sunlight to support photosynthesis and most of the sea’s plants — and descends for miles.
From New York Times • May 30, 2024
Photosynthesis can occur in the sunlit region near the surface called the photic zone.
From Textbooks • Jan. 1, 2018
The photic zone is also known as the epipelagic zone.
From Textbooks • Jan. 1, 2015
It would be very difficult to transfer the photic borer to the other building, and I can light up the interior perfectly well by means of electric lights.
From The Great Stone of Sardis by Stockton, Frank Richard
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.
