A laser is a device that produces a narrow, powerful beam of light with a single color and direction, used in things like surgery, cutting, measuring, and reading data.
An acronym from *Light Amplification by Stimulated Emission of Radiation*, coined in the 1960s. It quickly became treated as a normal word in English.
Unlike most acronyms, *laser* became so natural that many people forget it ever stood for anything. It also turned into a metaphor: we talk about “laser focus” even when no actual beam of light is involved.
Complete word intelligence in one call. Free tier — 50 lookups/day.