Based on these results, researchers concluded that goldfish are able to navigate their surroundings and remember visual cues through a process known as optic flow, estimating distance by tracking the motion of objects around them.—Lily Carey, Discover Magazine, 2 Apr. 2024 Thinner than a human hair, our pacemaker is made of an optic fiber and silicon membrane that the Tian lab and colleagues at the University of Chicago Pritzker School of Molecular Engineering have spent years developing.—Pengju Li, Discover Magazine, 23 Mar. 2024
Noun
But optics matter in campaigns, and Biden has to do something to keep voters from freaking out.—Anita Chabria, Los Angeles Times, 4 June 2024 And Sigma tunes the optics to get good detail of faraway subjects at the maximum aperture.—PCMAG, 20 May 2024 See all Example Sentences for optic
These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'optic.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
Word History
Etymology
Adjective
Middle English, from Medieval Latin opticus, from Greek optikos, from opsesthai to be going to see; akin to Greek opsis appearance, ōps eye — more at eye
Middle English optic "relating to the eye," from Latin opticus (same meaning), from Greek optikos (same meaning), from opsesthai "to be going to see" — related to autopsy
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