eye doctor
Americannoun
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eye doctors
plural
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an ophthalmologist.
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an optometrist.
Synonym Usage
The term eye doctor refers generally to an ophthalmologist, but is also used informally (and imprecisely) in referring to an optometrist. An ophthalmologist is a physician who specializes in the diagnosis and treatment of diseases of the eye. Ophthalmologists may prescribe and fit eyeglasses and contact lenses and also treat eye diseases with drugs and surgery. An optometrist is not a physician. Optometrists are professionally licensed to test a person for vision defects, prescribe and fit glasses and contact lenses, and prescribe therapeutic exercises, but they do not perform surgery and in most U.S. states may not prescribe drugs. An optician is licensed to make, sell, and fit glasses and, in most U.S. states, contact lenses prescribed by an ophthalmologist or optometrist. The term oculist, which formerly referred to an ophthalmologist, is no longer used.
Other Word Forms
Noun Inflected Forms
Etymology
Origin of eye doctor
First recorded in 1880–85
Compare meaning
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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.
Just 16% of school-age kids on Medi-Cal saw an eye doctor between 2022 and 2024 for first-time eye exams, continuing vision checkups or glasses, according to a report commissioned by the California Optometric Assn.
From Los Angeles Times ● Apr. 4, 2026
Maybe, but children wouldn’t have go to the eye doctor as often to get prescriptions for new lenses.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Mar. 13, 2026
After what has happened, Malak wants to train as an eye doctor, to help others who suffer as she does.
From BBC ● Oct. 7, 2024
If you experience eye pain or redness, blurry vision or extra sensitivity to light, experts said that you should see an eye doctor, as these can be symptoms of an infection.
From Seattle Times ● Apr. 6, 2024
The other eye hadn't opened yet, but the eye doctor said it would be all right in a few days.
From "The Bell Jar" by Sylvia Plath
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.
