Leeuwenhoek

or Le·u·wen·hoek

[ ley-vuhn-hook; Dutch ley-y-wuhn-hook ]

/ ˈleɪ vənˌhʊk; Dutch ˈleɪ ü wənˌhuk /

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noun

An·ton van

[ahn-tawn vahn], /ˈɑn tɔn vɑn/, 1632–1723, Dutch naturalist and microscopist.

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Words nearby Leeuwenhoek

Lees Summit, leet, lee tide, leetspeak, Leeuwarden, Leeuwenhoek, leeward, Leeward Islands, lee wave, leeway, Le Fanu

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

How to use Leeuwenhoek in a sentence

This fortunate chance, which Leeuwenhoek desires, presented itself to Mr. Needham.
Buffon's Natural History, Volume III (of 10)|Georges Louis Leclerc, Comte de Buffon
This doctrine is also sufficiently confirmed by the microscope observations of M. Leeuwenhoek and other good observers.
Theodicy|G. W. Leibniz
Leeuwenhoek calculated that two females might become the grandmothers of 10,000 lice in eight weeks.
Animal Parasites and Messmates|P. J. Van Beneden
Leeuwenhoek gives an instance of a woman of the lower classes who had a tick in the middle of her stomach.
Animal Parasites and Messmates|P. J. Van Beneden

The tomb of Antony van Leeuwenhoek, the inventor of the microscope, is also to be seen in the church.
A Wanderer in Holland|E. V. Lucas

British Dictionary definitions for Leeuwenhoek

Leeuwenhoek

/ (ˈleɪvənˌhuːk, Dutch ˈleːwənhuːk) /

noun

Anton van (ˈɑntɔn vɑn). 1632–1723, Dutch microscopist, whose microscopes enabled him to give the first accurate description of blood corpuscles, spermatozoa, and microbes

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Scientific definitions for Leeuwenhoek

Leeuwenhoek

[ lā′vən-huk′ ]

Anton van 1632-1723

Dutch naturalist and pioneer of microscopic research. He was the first to describe protozoa, bacteria, and spermatozoa. He also made observations of yeasts, red blood cells, and blood capillaries, and traced the life histories of various animals, including the flea, ant, and weevil.

Biography

As a young man Anton van Leeuwenhoek worked in a drapery store, where he used magnifying glasses to count thread densities. Perhaps inspired by Robert Hooke's Micrographia (an account of Hooke's microscopic investigations in botany, chemistry, and other branches of science, published in 1665), he began building microscopes. He examined hair, blood, insects, and other things around him, keeping detailed records and drawings of his observations. Although compound microscopes with more than one lens had been invented at the end of the fourteenth century, they were able to magnify objects only 20 to 30 times. Van Leeuwenhoek's single-lens microscopes were basically powerful magnifying glasses, but his superior lens-grinding skills and acute eyesight enabled him to magnify objects up to 200 times. Van Leeuwenhoek made each microscope for a specific investigation, and he had his specimens permanently mounted so he could study them as long as he wanted. His discoveries include protozoans (1674), blood cells (1674), bacteria (1676), spermatozoa (1677), and the structure of nerves (1717). By the time of his death at the age of ninety, van Leeuwenhoek had constructed more than 400 microscopes.