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
Comb of many colors At the core of the breakthrough is an optical parametric oscillator (OPO), a resonator that converts incoming laser light into new frequencies using a nonlinear crystal.
—
Neetika Walter, Interesting Engineering, 13 Sep. 2025
Even with the advantage of large, powerful telescopes, even from far above the limitations of Earth’s atmosphere in space, there are still enormous portions of the Universe that are virtually invisible to our optical telescopes.
—Ethan Siegel, Big Think, 12 Sep. 2025
Apple says this camera is capable of 12MP optical-quality 2x telephoto images.
—PC Magazine, 12 Sep. 2025
The 48 megapixel camera houses a telephoto lens with 1x, 2x, 4x and 8× optical zoom and 8K recording capabilities.
—James Powel, USA Today, 10 Sep. 2025
See All Example Sentences for optical
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Neetika Walter, Interesting Engineering, 13 Sep. 2025
Even with the advantage of large, powerful telescopes, even from far above the limitations of Earth’s atmosphere in space, there are still enormous portions of the Universe that are virtually invisible to our optical telescopes.
—Ethan Siegel, Big Think, 12 Sep. 2025
Apple says this camera is capable of 12MP optical-quality 2x telephoto images.
—PC Magazine, 12 Sep. 2025
The 48 megapixel camera houses a telephoto lens with 1x, 2x, 4x and 8× optical zoom and 8K recording capabilities.
—James Powel, USA Today, 10 Sep. 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 17 Sep. 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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