stereoscope

[ ster-ee-uh-skohp, steer- ]

noun
  1. an optical instrument through which two pictures of the same object, taken from slightly different points of view, are viewed, one by each eye, producing the effect of a single picture of the object, with the appearance of depth or relief.

Origin of stereoscope

1
First recorded in 1830–40; stereo- + -scope

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

How to use stereoscope in a sentence

  • The prismatic glasses usually attached to stereoscopes are here quite superfluous.

    Schweigger on Squint | C. Schweigger
  • We studied those photographs with the aid of stereoscopes and magnifying glasses by the hour.

    The Blocking of Zeebrugge | Alfred F. B. Carpenter

British Dictionary definitions for stereoscope

stereoscope

/ (ˈstɛrɪəˌskəʊp, ˈstɪər-) /


noun
  1. an optical instrument for viewing two-dimensional pictures and giving them an illusion of depth and relief. It has a binocular eyepiece through which two slightly different pictures of the same object are viewed, one with each eye

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Scientific definitions for stereoscope

stereoscope

[ stĕrē-ə-skōp′ ]


  1. An optical instrument through which two slightly different images (typically photographs) of the same scene are presented, one to each eye, providing an illusion of three dimensions. Modern virtual reality equipment often uses a stereoscope that presents animated, computer-generated images to the eyes, rather than photographic images.♦ A stereogram is a single pair of photographic images used in a stereograph. See also stereoscopic vision.

The American Heritage® Science Dictionary Copyright © 2011. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.