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fiber optic cable

fiber optic cable

7 3.9
A thin glass or plastic cable that sends data as light
  • noun
  • /ˈfaɪbər ˈɒptɪk ˈkeɪbəl/
  • Specialized
translation icon : cable de fibra óptica
  • Wires, conduits, and fibre-optic cables run everywhere from machine to machine.

What you see here is a obviously the globe and these pipelines that you see running are fibre optic cables that run at the bottom of the ocean.

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Examples

  • Disable the fiber-optic cables in that box and the Internet will cease to exist.

  • To improve internet access, the company is installing fiber optic cable in rural areas.

  • There is an extensive global communication network using metal and fiber-optic cables.

    Fiction book (2000)
  • So all of the data and the control signals are sent over fiber optic cables, which is pretty standard.

  • There was also about seven miles of buried fiber optic cable that no thief had yet been able to think of a use for.

    Fiction book (2001)
  • The active beam has minimal divergence as it comes out of the fiber-optic cable.

    Academic text (1995)
  • NYClassNet began when four high schools, one community college, and Lincoln Center were connected with fiber optic cables to form an electronic learning community.

    Academic text (2001)
  • The theoretical limit on a single strand of fiber optic cable is about 200 terabits a second.

    Academic text (1999)
  • Visible wavelength lasers allow energy transmission through fiber optic cables.

    Academic text (1995)
  • Next year, Venetians hope to complete the laying of nearly 50 miles of fiber-optic cable, resulting in 600 Wi-Fi hot spots for free Internet access.

    Academic text (2009)

Synonyms

cable
vsfiber optic cable
  • Specialized
282 2.4

A thick strong wire that carries electricity or signals

uses thin glass or plastic strands specifically for light-based data transmission
fiber
vsfiber optic cable
  • Specialized
71 3.7

A thin glass or plastic thread that carries data as light

is made by grouping many such strands to send light pulses
wireline
vsfiber optic cable
  • Specialized
2 7.2

A cable that carries data or phone signals

uses thin glass or plastic strands to transmit data as light pulses

How Fast

fiber optic cable
  • Specialized
7 3.9
coaxial cable
  • Specialized
1 4.0
conducting wire
  • Specialized
3.4

Surface Forms

Morphology

fiber + optic + cable

The phrase is directly compositional: 'fiber' (thin strand), 'optic' (relating to light/vision), and 'cable' (a wire/cord) combine to indicate a cable made of optical fibers that transmits light-based signals. This is a literal, cross-linguistically common compound and a B1 learner who knows the constituents can reasonably infer the intended meaning, despite the mild technicality of 'optic'.

Etymology

Fiber optic cable is a 'cable' made of many very thin glass fibers that guide 'light' like tiny clear tubes, and the word optic shows it uses 'light'. Because the light moves very fast through those fibers, the cable can send a lot of information quickly over long distances, so the term means a 'cable' that transmits data as light.