optic
part of speech
adjective (optic); noun (an optic, optics)
meaning for a pupil
1) (adjective) To do with the eye or sight: «the optic nerve». tree →
2) (optics, uncountable) The science of light and how it behaves, including lenses and mirrors. tree →
3) (noun, UK) A device fixed to a bottle to pour out a measured amount of drink. tree →
4) (optics, informal) How something looks to the public. tree →
5) An optic is an old or poetic word for an eye. tree →
sense in the lessons
In science: the optic nerve carries messages from the eye to the brain; optics studies how light reflects and refracts. «Fibre optic» (fiber optic) cables carry internet signals as light through thin glass threads. Phrases: «optic nerve», «fibre optic», «optics».
examples
- The optic nerve sends signals from your eye to your brain. tree →
- Fibre optic cables carry information as light. tree →
- Optics is the science of light. tree →
- Lenses in glasses are part of optics. tree →
- The doctor checked my optic nerve. tree →
- Fibre optic lamps glow at the tips. tree →
- But the eagle-eyed watcher watched until his eyes narrowed and became pin-points, and he ceased to be a man and became an optic. tree →
note
More common is the adjective «optical» (optical illusion). «Optics» ends in s but is singular as a science: «Optics is…». Spelling: fibre optic (UK) / fiber optic (US). Related: optician (eye-test shop worker).
In the corpora
Trees and pragmatics
Every meaning and example of «optic» parsed by Mova, each sentence with its dependency tree and frames.