microscopy

American  

[mahy-kros-kuh-pee, mahy-kruh-skoh-pee] / maɪˈkrɒs kə pi, ˈmaɪ krəˌskoʊ pi /

noun

1. the use of the microscope.

2. microscopic investigation.

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microscopy British  

/ maɪˈkrɒskəpɪ, maɪˈkrɒskəpɪst /

noun

1. the study, design, and manufacture of microscopes

2. investigation by use of a microscope

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Other Word Forms

• microscopist
  noun

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.

Example Sentences

The researchers published their findings in the journal Microscopy.

From Science Daily • Nov. 18, 2024

I never thought I'd touch a piece of the Moon, but that's what's in my hand at the Plymouth Electron Microscopy Centre.

From BBC • May 13, 2022

Microscopy slides used in the first detailed UK report of a link between lung cancer and asbestos.Credit:

From Nature • Oct. 14, 2019

Let’s start where Szczerba started: he based his article on a new paper published in the Journal of Microscopy and Ultrastructure, titled “Why children absorb more microwave radiation than adults: The consequences.”

From Forbes • Jan. 20, 2015

The specimens here delineated were gathered in one of the hothouses of the Agricultural Department and first described and figured in Food Products, No. 2, of the report of the Division of Microscopy.

From Student's Hand-book of Mushrooms of America, Edible and Poisonous by Taylor, Thomas