microscope

American  

[mahy-kruh-skohp] / ˈmaɪ krəˌskoʊp /

noun

• microscopes
  plural

1. an optical instrument having a magnifying lens or a combination of lenses for inspecting objects too small to be seen or too small to be seen distinctly and in detail by the unaided eye.

2. Astronomy. Microscope, the constellation Microscopium.

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microscope British  

/ ˈmaɪkrəˌskəʊp /

noun

1. an optical instrument that uses a lens or combination of lenses to produce a magnified image of a small, close object. Modern optical microscopes have magnifications of about 1500 to 2000 See also simple microscope compound microscope ultramicroscope

2. any instrument, such as the electron microscope, for producing a magnified visual image of a small object

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microscope Scientific  

/ mī′krə-skōp′ /

1. Any of various instruments used to magnify small objects that are difficult or impossible to observe the naked eye.

2. ◆ Optical microscopes use light reflected from or passed through the sample being observed to form a magnified image of the object, refracting the light with an arrangement of lenses and mirrors similar to those found in telescopes.

3. See also atomic force microscope electron microscope field ion microscope

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microscope Cultural  

1. A device that produces a magnified image of objects too small to be seen with the naked eye. Such objects are thus called “microscopic.” The microscope is widely used in medicine and biology. Common microscopes use lenses; others, such as electron microscopes, scan an object with electrons, x-rays, and other radiation besides ordinary visible light.

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Other Word Forms

Noun Inflected Forms

• microscopes
  plural

Etymology

Origin of microscope

First recorded in 1650–60; from New Latin mīcroscopium; see micro-, -scope

Explanation

A microscope is a mechanical instrument that magnifies the image of small objects. You would use a microscope to look at something tiny, like an amoeba. First used in the 1650s, microscope is descended from the Modern Latin microscopium, meaning "an instrument for viewing what is small." In science, microscopes are essential for examining material that can't be seen with the naked eye, like bacteria and viruses. In the same vein, you might feel like you're "under a microscope" if you're being very closely observed and scrutinized, like a star in the limelight or a politician in front of the media.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

microscope microscopes

To investigate the effect, the team used specialized microscope probes to map the shape of the wrinkles and measure local electrical energy and current.

From Science Daily ● Aug. 17, 2026

By the second day, her neck was aching and she was taking migraine medication to ward off headaches caused by intense microscope light.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 5, 2026

All while playing under the Dodgers’ high-powered microscope.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 31, 2026

The standards of refereeing will be under the microscope like never before after the contentious and title-defining calls came in a mad flurry at the end of last season.

From BBC ● Jul. 31, 2026

That the telescope flourished and the microscope languished is one of the signs that the Scientific Revolution can properly be understood as a revolution—that is, a revolt against a previous order.

From "The Invention of Science" by David Wootton

Scientists observed oysters in glass vats, dissected their innards and studied their anatomy under microscopes.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 6, 2026

Modern MRI reveals the whole brain but lacks cellular detail; microscopes reveal individual cells but only in isolated slices.

From BBC ● Jul. 13, 2026

They used an unusual property of transmission electron microscopes to recreate the process.

From Science Daily ● Apr. 20, 2026

With high powered electron microscopes, the scientists observed structural damage in the brains of these mice.

From Science Daily ● Apr. 8, 2026

Telescopes and microscopes depended on pre-existing techniques for making lenses, and thermometers and barometers depended on pre-existing techniques for blowing glass.

From "The Invention of Science" by David Wootton