Meaning & use
laser
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Meanings
nouncountabletechnical
A device that produces a very narrow, strong beam of light of a single color, used for cutting, measuring, printing and many other tasks.
Grammar: Countable: a laser, several lasers.
Patterns
- a laser beam
- use a laser to do something
The surgeon used a laser to repair the damaged part of the eye.
A red laser marked the spot on the wall for the builder.
The laser in the scanner reads the barcode in a fraction of a second.
nouncountable or uncountable
The concentrated beam of light itself, as when used for pointing or in a show.
Grammar: Often used before another noun: laser light, a laser pointer.
Patterns
- laser light
- laser pointer
Green laser light swept over the dancing crowd.
The teacher pointed to the chart with a laser pointer.
A laser printer produced the pages quickly.
verbtransitive
To treat, cut or mark something with a laser beam.
Grammar: Takes an object: laser a mark.
Patterns
- laser something off
- laser something onto something
The clinic can laser away the small scar.
The company lasers its logo onto each knife.
Doctors lasered the growth in a ten-minute procedure.
Word forms
| plural | lasers |
|---|---|
| third person singular | lasers |
| past tense | lasered |
| past participle | lasered |
| -ing form | lasering |
Common combinations
- laser beam
- The laser beam cut through the metal.
- laser surgery
- He had laser surgery to correct his vision.
- laser printer
- The office bought a new laser printer.
- laser pointer
- The speaker used a laser pointer on the slides.
- laser focus
- She worked with laser focus to finish the report.
Synonyms and how they differ
- beam
- Beam is a general word for any ray of light, while a laser is a specific device producing a precise, intense beam.
- ray
- Ray is a broad word for any line of light or energy, whereas laser refers to the machine or its coherent beam.
- light
- Light is the ordinary word for brightness, while laser light has a special, focused, single-color quality.
Word family
- laser-guided adjective
- steered by a laser beam
- lasing noun
- the process of producing laser light
- maser noun
- a similar device that amplifies microwaves
- laser-cut adjective
- cut with a laser
Commonly confused: laser or lazer?
laser vs lazer
Lazer is a common misspelling of laser. The word is spelled with a s.
Practice
How do you spell the device that produces a narrow, intense beam of light used in surgery and printers?
Choose one answer.
Laser is spelled l-a-s-e-r, from the initial letters of a scientific phrase. Lazer is a common but incorrect spelling.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “laser”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.