microfiche
Americannoun
verb (used with object)
noun
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of microfiche
First recorded in 1945–50; micro- + French fiche “small card”
Explanation
Microfiche is a type of film that's used to store information. If you're doing research in very old newspapers, your library might have them available on microfiche. Microfiche is basically tiny photographs of old, fragile materials like journals, magazines, and newspapers. Before information began to be saved electronically on computers, microfiche was one way to save space in archives and libraries — instead of shelves full of journals, they could store drawers of thin photographic film containing an enormous amount of information. To view microfiche, you need a special magnifying device. Microfiche comes from French roots meaning "small slip of paper."
Vocabulary lists containing microfiche
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
Decades of police records stored as microfiche were transcribed into three, hefty logbooks for detectives to painstakingly examine.
From BBC • Sep. 29, 2022
I eventually found an Orthodox Jewish ophthalmologist who shared his idea for a thriller where the microfiche was hidden in the Hasidic spy's eye.
From Salon • Jun. 18, 2022
He said the process will be even more difficult when they get beyond the electronic court record, and have to confirm older convictions on microfiche.
From Seattle Times • May 31, 2022
At one point, Yeghiayan used the Glendale Public Library to print 594 pages of microfiche records, feeding dime after dime into the machine.
From Los Angeles Times • Mar. 23, 2022
Outside on the floor I saw Jack leave the microfiche room and walk back to his desk.
From "Native Speaker" by Chang-rae Lee
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
