optical
adjective
op·ti·cal
ˈäp-ti-kəl 
1
: of or relating to the science of optics
2
a
: of or relating to vision : visual
b
: visible sense 1
optical wavelength
c
: of, relating to, or being objects that emit light in the visible range of frequencies
an optical galaxy
d
: using the properties of light to aid vision
an optical instrument
3
a
: of, relating to, or utilizing light especially instead of other forms of energy
optical microscopy
b
: involving the use of light-sensitive devices to acquire information for a computer
optical character recognition
4
: of or relating to optical art
Examples of optical in a Sentence
The company manufactures microscopes, telescopes, and other optical instruments.
an optical illusion that fools most people
Recent Examples on the Web
The 100-400mm II supports Sync IS, a feature missing from the first that uses both the lens's optical stabilizer and the camera's in-body image stabilization (IBIS).
—
PC Magazine, 31 May 2025
It's said to come with the industry's widest optical zoom at 1.67x, which is designed to maintain lossless 4K UHD resolution at all throw sizes.
—Paul Ridden
may 29, New Atlas, 29 May 2025
From its bottom edge, supportive struts held up a secondary reflecting surface and a receiver (basically the radio version of an optical telescope’s camera) that looked a bit like the spaceship Foster’s character boarded in .
—Sarah Scoles, Scientific American, 28 May 2025
The green flash is a rare, brief optical event of green, yellow, and sometimes blue that colors the horizon, occurring at sunrise or sunset most often in the western U.S.
Refraction and dispersion cause the green flash, and there are four different types of green flashes that can occur.
—Madison Dapcevich, Discover Magazine, 28 May 2025
See All Example Sentences for optical
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PC Magazine, 31 May 2025
It's said to come with the industry's widest optical zoom at 1.67x, which is designed to maintain lossless 4K UHD resolution at all throw sizes.
—Paul Ridden
may 29, New Atlas, 29 May 2025
From its bottom edge, supportive struts held up a secondary reflecting surface and a receiver (basically the radio version of an optical telescope’s camera) that looked a bit like the spaceship Foster’s character boarded in .
—Sarah Scoles, Scientific American, 28 May 2025
The green flash is a rare, brief optical event of green, yellow, and sometimes blue that colors the horizon, occurring at sunrise or sunset most often in the western U.S.
Refraction and dispersion cause the green flash, and there are four different types of green flashes that can occur.
—Madison Dapcevich, Discover Magazine, 28 May 2025
See All Example Sentences for optical
Cite this Entry
“Optical.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/optical. Accessed 5 Jun. 2025.
Copy CitationKids Definition
optical
adjective
op·ti·cal
ˈäp-ti-kəl
1
: relating to optics
2
: of or relating to vision
3
a
: of, relating to, or using light
an optical telescope
b
: involving the use of a device that senses light to acquire information for a computer
an optical scanner
Medical Definition
optical
adjective
op·ti·cal
ˈäp-ti-kəl
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