laser

L1A1S1E1R1
UK/ˈleɪz.ə(ɹ)/US/ˈleɪzɚ/UK/ˈleɪs.ə(ɹ)/

noun

A device that produces a monochromatic, coherent beam of light.

“I've still got a few more sessions of laser to get rid of the rest of my facial hair.”

Similar
LASERoptical maser
Very commonScrabble 5

Meanings

laser1

nounlaser (countable and uncountable, plural lasers)

plural lasers

  1. countableuncountableA device that produces a monochromatic, coherent beam of light.
  2. countableuncountableA beam of light produced by such a device; a laser beam.
  3. countableuncountableA laser printer.

    The bad news is that nearly every color laser is too big to share a desk with comfortably.

    2004 May 18, PC Mag, volume 23, number 9, page 117
  4. abbreviationellipsisuncountablemedicineEllipsis of laser hair removal.

    I've still got a few more sessions of laser to get rid of the rest of my facial hair.

verblaser (third-person singular simple present lasers, present participle lasering, simple past and past participle lasered)

present singular third person lasers · participle present lasering · participle past lasered · past lasered

  1. transitiveTo cut, destroy or treat with a laser.

    I'm having my eyes lasered to correct my astigmatism.

  2. informaltransitivehobbiesTo throw or kick with laser-like precision.

    None was any more sensational than No.6, a fantastic 27-23 last-gasp win over the Arizona Cardinals, cemented by a brilliant toe-sticking TD catch by Santonio Holmes in the back of the end zone with 35 seconds remaining on a pass lasered by quarterback Ben Roethlisberger.

    2009 February 2, Dave Perkins, “Steelers tiptoe past Cards”, in Toronto Star
  3. aeronauticsTo point a laser at an aircraft, potentially disorienting the pilot or pilots.

laser2

nounlaser (plural lasers)

plural lasers · alternative lasar

  1. A gum resin obtained from certain umbelliferous plants.
  2. Such a plant.

Laser3

nounLaser (plural Lasers)

plural Lasers

  1. nauticalA simple type of dinghy

LASER4

nounLASER (plural LASERs)

plural LASERs

  1. abbreviationacronymAcronym of light amplification by stimulated emission of radiation.

    The Engineering Experiment Station of the University of Idaho is cooperating in pioneer investigations of the possible use of LASERs in forest fire operation.

    1963, Interior Department and Related Agencies Appropriations for 1964: Hearings Before a Subcommittee of the Committee on Appropriations, United States Senate, Eighty-Eighth Congress, First Session, on H.R. 5279, Washington, D.C.: U.S. Government Printing Office, page 1307

    Synonyms: laser

Synonyms & antonyms

Similar
LASERoptical maseroptical MASER

More synonyms by meaning

nounan acronym for light amplification by stimulated emission of radiation; an optical device that produces an intense monochromatic beam of coherent light

Similar
optical maser
Broader
optical device

Synonym sets from Open English WordNet, CC BY 4.0.

Origin

laser · noun, verb

  1. Proto-Indo-European*lewk-
  2. Proto-Indo-European*lewktom
  3. Proto-Germanic*leuhtą
  4. Proto-West Germanic*leuht
  5. Old Englishlēoht
  6. Middle Englishlight
  7. Englishlight
  8. Proto-Indo-European*h₃emh₃-
  9. Proto-Indo-European*h₃emh₃-lo-s
  10. Proto-Italic*amlos?
  11. Proto-Indo-European*h₂ent-
  12. Proto-Indo-European*h₂énts?
  13. Proto-Indo-European*h₂m̥bʰí
  14. Proto-Italic*amβi-
  15. Latinambi-
  16. Proto-Indo-European*pleh₁-
  17. Proto-Indo-European*pl̥h₁nós
  18. Proto-Italic*plēnos
  19. Latinplēnus?
  20. Latinambiplus?
  21. Latinamplus
  22. Proto-Indo-European*dʰeh₁-
  23. Proto-Italic*θakos
  24. Latinamplificō
  25. Latinamplificātiō
  26. Englishamplification
  27. Proto-Indo-European*(s)tey-?
  28. Latinstimulus
  29. Latinstimulo
  30. Latinstimulatus
  31. Englishstimulate
  32. Englishstimulated
  33. Proto-Indo-European*h₁éǵʰ
  34. Proto-Indo-European*h₁éǵʰs
  35. Proto-Italic*eks
  36. Latinex
  37. Latinex-
  38. Proto-Indo-European*mey-?
  39. Proto-Indo-European*meyth₂-
  40. Proto-Indo-European*méyth₂eti
  41. Proto-Italic*meitō
  42. Old Latinmītō
  43. Latinmittō
  44. Latinēmittō
  45. Latinēmissiō
  46. Middle Frenchémission
  47. Englishemission
  48. Latinradius
  49. Latinradiō
  50. Latinradiatio
  51. Englishradiation
  52. EnglishLASER
  53. Englishlaser

From LASER, acronym of light amplification by stimulated emission of radiation. Coined by American physicist Gordon Gould in 1957. Originally called an optical maser.

Full word history & related roots →

laser · noun

  1. Latinlaser
  2. Latinlaser
  3. Englishlaser

Borrowed from Latin laser.

Full word history & related roots →

Translations

Arabic لَيْزِر
  • لَيْزِر (layzir)device producing beam of light
Basque laser
  • laserdevice producing beam of light
Bengali লেজার
  • লেজার (lejar)device producing beam of light
Bulgarian ла́зер
  • ла́зер (lázer)device producing beam of light
Catalan làser
  • làserdevice producing beam of light
Chinese Cantonese 激光, 雷射
  • 激光 (gik¹ gwong¹)device producing beam of light
  • 雷射 (leoi⁴ se⁶)device producing beam of light
  • 鐳射 /镭射 (leoi⁴ se⁶)device producing beam of light
Chinese Mandarin 激光, 雷射
  • 激光 (jīguāng)device producing beam of light
  • 雷射 (léishè)device producing beam of light
  • 鐳射 /镭射 (léishè)device producing beam of light
Czech laser
  • laserdevice producing beam of light
Danish laser
  • laserdevice producing beam of light
Dutch laser
  • laserdevice producing beam of light
Esperanto lasero
  • laserodevice producing beam of light
Estonian laser
  • laserdevice producing beam of light
Finnish laser
  • laserdevice producing beam of light
French laser
  • laserdevice producing beam of light
German Laser
  • Laserdevice producing beam of light
Greek λέιζερ
  • λέιζερ (léizer)device producing beam of light
Hebrew לייזר \ לֵיְזֶר
  • לייזר \ לֵיְזֶר (léizer)device producing beam of light
Hindi लेज़र, लेसर
  • लेज़र (lezar)device producing beam of light
  • लेसर (lesar)device producing beam of light
  • लाजार (lājār)device producing beam of light
Hungarian lézer
  • lézerdevice producing beam of light
Icelandic leysir, leysigeisli
  • leysirdevice producing beam of light
  • leysigeislidevice producing beam of light
Indonesian laser
  • laserdevice producing beam of light
Italian laser
  • laserdevice producing beam of light
Japanese レーザー
  • レーザー (rēzā)device producing beam of light
Korean 레이저
  • 레이저 (reijeo)device producing beam of light
Latvian lāzers
  • lāzersdevice producing beam of light
Lithuanian lazeris
  • lazerisdevice producing beam of light
Malay laser
  • laserdevice producing beam of light
Norwegian Bokmål laser
  • laserdevice producing beam of light
Polish laser
  • laserdevice producing beam of light
Portuguese laser, lêiser
  • laserdevice producing beam of light
  • lêiserdevice producing beam of light
Romanian laser
  • laserdevice producing beam of light
Russian ла́зер
  • ла́зер (lázer)device producing beam of light
Spanish láser
  • láserdevice producing beam of light
Swahili leza
  • lezadevice producing beam of light
Swedish laser
  • laserdevice producing beam of light
Thai เลเซอร์
  • เลเซอร์ (lee-sə̂ə)device producing beam of light
Turkish lazer
  • lazerdevice producing beam of light
Ukrainian ла́зер
  • ла́зер (lázer)device producing beam of light
Urdu لیزَر
  • لیزَر (lezar)device producing beam of light
Vietnamese la-de, kích quang
  • la-dedevice producing beam of light
  • kích quangdevice producing beam of light
Yiddish לאַזער
  • לאַזער (lazer)device producing beam of light

Rhymes & wordplay

Rhymes with laser

All rhymes →

Sounds the same

Anagrams

Cite this entry
APA

laser. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 3, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/laser

MLA

“laser.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/laser. Accessed November 3, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “laser,” accessed November 3, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/laser.

Source: laser on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.