microscopic
[ mahy-kruh-skop-ik ]
/ ˌmaɪ krəˈskɒp ɪk /
Save This Word!
adjective
so small as to be invisible or indistinct without the use of the microscope: microscopic organisms.Compare macroscopic.
very small; tiny.
of, relating to, or involving a microscope: microscopic investigation.
very detailed; meticulous: a microscopic view of society.
suggestive of the precise use of the microscope; minute: microscopic exactness.
QUIZZES
THINK YOU’VE GOT A HANDLE ON THIS US STATE NICKNAME QUIZ?
Did you ever collect all those state quarters? Put them to good use on this quiz about curious state monikers and the facts around them.
Question 1 of 8
Mississippi’s nickname comes from the magnificent trees that grow there. What is it?
Also mi·cro·scop·i·cal .
Origin of microscopic
First recorded in 1670–80; microscope + -ic
OTHER WORDS FROM microscopic
Words nearby microscopic
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2021
Example sentences from the Web for microscopic
British Dictionary definitions for microscopic
microscopic
less commonly microscopical
/ (ˌmaɪkrəˈskɒpɪk) /
adjective
not large enough to be seen with the naked eye but visible under a microscopeCompare macroscopic
very small; minute
of, concerned with, or using a microscope
characterized by or done with great attention to detail
Derived forms of microscopic
microscopically, adverbCollins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition
© William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012
Medical definitions for microscopic
microscopic
[ mī′krə-skŏp′ĭk ]
adj.
Too small to be seen by the unaided eye but large enough to be studied under a microscope.
Of, relating to, or concerned with a microscope.
Being or characterized as exceedingly small; minute.
The American Heritage® Stedman's Medical Dictionary
Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company.