microscopy
Americannoun
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the study, design, and manufacture of microscopes
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investigation by use of a microscope
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of microscopy
First recorded in 1655–65; microscope + -y 3
Explanation
Microscopy is the field of using a special instrument to observe things that are otherwise too small to see. If you yearn to study amoebas or bacteria up close, you'll want to pursue microscopy! Microscopy is an area of scientific research that specializes in using microscopes. Both words are derived from the Greek roots mikros, "small," and skopein, "to examine." While microscopy is a technical field, if you make a habit of examining tiny things up close with the help of a microscope — drops of rainwater, an insect wing, your cat's fur — that's microscopy too.
Vocabulary lists containing microscopy
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micro (small)
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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.
"To see nanoscale structures with standard electron microscopy, we fix and dehydrate the tissues, but freezing them retains their shape -- similar to freezing a grape rather than dehydrating it into a raisin," Watanabe said.
From Science Daily ● Sep. 17, 2026
If the system works as expected, it could open a new approach to electron microscopy in which researchers gain more information while exposing sensitive samples to fewer electrons.
From Science Daily ● Sep. 13, 2026
Using powerful atomic force microscopy, researchers watched short pieces of DNA align with extraordinary precision, matching one another groove for groove.
From Science Daily ● Sep. 10, 2026
Cross polarized light microscopy uses specially filtered light to reveal structures that may be difficult to see with ordinary microscopy.
From Science Daily ● Aug. 14, 2026
Micrographia really did mark the moment when microscopy came of age as a scientific discipline.
From "The Scientists" by John Gribbin
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.
