optic

/ˈɒp.tɪk/US/ˈɑp.tɪk/

optic adjective: of, or relating to the eye or to vision.

Adjective

optic (not comparable)

(relational) Of, or relating to the eye or to vision.
- The moon, whose orb / Through optic glass the Tuscan artist views.1667, John Milton, “Book I”, in Paradise Lost. […], London: […] [Samuel Simmons], and are to be sold by Peter Parker […]; [a]nd by Robert Boulter […]; [a]nd Matthias Walker, […], →OCLC; republished...
(relational) Of, or relating to optics or optical instruments.

Noun

optic (plural optics)

(archaic, humorous) An eye.
- The difference is as great between / The optics seeing, as the object seen.1734, Alexander Pope, Of the Knowledge and Characters of Men: An Epistle to the Right Honourable Richard Lord Viscount Cobham
- how they, / Who saw those figures on the margin kiss all, / Could turn their optics to the text and pray, / Is more than I know[…]1819, Lord Byron, “Canto 1”, in Don Juan, section 46
A lens or other part of an optical instrument that interacts with light.
- The single-imaging optic of the mammalian eye offers some distinct visual advantages. Such lenses can take in photons from a wide range of angles, increasing light sensitivity. They also have high spatial resolution, resolving incoming images in minute detail.2013, Fenella Saunders, “Tiny Lenses See the Big Picture”, in American Scientist, volume 101, number 4, →DOI, page 270
(trademark in UK) A measuring device with a small window, attached to an upside-down bottle, used to dispense alcoholic drinks in a bar.
- They were neatly lined up on three shelves between the optics of martini, vodka, whisky and gin.2014, M. P. Wright, Heartman
- They pulled up two bar stools and looked around the room as the barman relieved the whisky optic of its contents.2018, Denise Mina, Exile

optic meaning in Hindi, Tamil, Marathi and Urdu

optic in Hindi

of or relating to optics or optical instruments: प्रकाशीय prakāśīya

optic in Tamil

கண்சார்ந்த, கண்ணின், விழி நரம்பு, விழியுணர்வு நரம்பு, ஒளிக்குரிய

optic in Marathi

of or relating to optics or optical instruments: प्रकाशिक prakāśik, प्रकाशीय prakāśīy

optic in Urdu

بصری, آنکھ

More languagesFewer languages

optic in Bengali: দৃষ্টি, চোখ সংক্রান্ত
optic in Telugu: ఆప్టిక్
optic in Malayalam: ഒപ്റ്റിക്, ഒപ്റ്റിക്ക്
optic in Kannada: ಕಣ್ಣಿನ, ಕಣ್ಣಿಗೆ ಸಂಬಂಧಿಸಿದ, ಚಾಕ್ಷುಷ, ನೋಟದ
optic in Punjabi: ਆਪਟਿਕ, ਔਪਟਿਕ
optic in Gujarati: ઓપ્ટિક, ઓપ્ટીક
optic in Odia: ଅପ୍ଟିକ୍, ଅପ୍ଟିକ
optic in Nepali: अप्टिक, ओप्टिक
optic in Malay: optik
optic in Indonesian: optis, optik

Examples of optic in a sentence

Optic neuritis (or retrobulbar neuritis) is the inflammation of the optic nerve that may cause a complete or partial loss of vision.
The bully girl with a crystal optic and tin horn was at the jollification.
The integrity of the right optic radiation was analysed by means of a hodologic probabilistic approach.

All 26 example sentences with optic

Forms of optic

Adjective
alternative form	optick
alternative form	optique
Noun
plural	optics

Plural of optic: optics

Origin of optic

Borrowed from Middle French optique or Medieval Latin opticus, from Ancient Greek ὀπτῐκός (optĭkós, “of or for sight”), from ὀπτός (optós, “visible”) + -ῐκός (-ĭkós, “-ic”, adjectival suffix).

Phrases with optic

Words that rhyme with optic

Questions about optic

What does optic mean?: Optic means of, or relating to the eye or to vision.
What is optic in Hindi?: Optic in Hindi is प्रकाशीय (prakāśīya). See Optic meaning in Hindi.
What part of speech is optic?: Optic can be an adjective or a noun.
How do you pronounce optic?: Optic is pronounced /ˈɒp.tɪk/ (UK).

Words near optic in the dictionary

Adapted from Wiktionary: optic (page history and authors); optic (Tamil Wiktionary) (page history and authors); optic (Urdu Wiktionary) (page history and authors); optic (Bengali Wiktionary) (page history and authors); optic (Telugu, IndicTrans2 machine translation) (model and license); optic (Malayalam, IndicTrans2 machine translation) (model and license); optic (Kannada Wiktionary) (page history and authors); optic (Punjabi, IndicTrans2 machine translation) (model and license); optic (Gujarati, IndicTrans2 machine translation) (model and license); optic (Odia, IndicTrans2 machine translation) (model and license); optic (Nepali, IndicTrans2 machine translation) (model and license). Text available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 license. Word.ws reformatted the entry and added links. Wiktionary data of 2026-09-02.

Last updated: 2026-09-02

Pronunciation audio from Wikimedia Commons, each file under its own free license: LL-Q1860 (eng)-Vealhurl-optic.wav.

Cite this entry: “optic.” Word.ws, https://word.ws/optic. Based on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.