microscope

American  

[mahy-kruh-skohp] / ˈmaɪ krəˌskoʊp /

noun

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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Etymology

Origin of microscope

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

Example Sentences

Other methods used standard microscopes that could view the leaf but offered no control over the surrounding environment.

From Science Daily

Researchers point to improved resolution techniques -- such as the recent development of the holographic quantum microscope, which allows obtaining images of delicate biological samples -- along with extremely sensitive sensors that rely on quantum correlations.

From Science Daily

"We then look at this dance through a microscope with a camera and decode from the wiggles what the robots are saying to us. It's very similar to how honey bees communicate with each other."

From Science Daily

"These provide a digital record of the specimen which we've shared online so that they can be studied by anyone, not just people who can come to the museum and use our microscopes."

From Science Daily

I was under a microscope and felt scared to walk the streets.

From The Wall Street Journal