Ocular means relating to the eye or vision. When a doctor performs an ocular examination, she's checking the health of your eyes. An ocular implant is a medical device placed in or near the eye. Scientists use ocular when they're being precise about things involving the eye itself, like ocular muscles (the tiny muscles that move your eyeball) or ocular migraines (headaches that can affect vision).

While ocular sounds formal and medical, it's simply the scientific way to say “eye-related.” A doctor might describe an ocular injury, where most people would just say “eye injury.” The words mean the same thing, but ocular signals you're talking precisely and professionally about the eye as a complex organ.