microscope

noun

mi·​cro·​scope ˈmī-krə-ˌskōp 

1

: an optical instrument consisting of a lens or combination of lenses for making enlarged images of minute objects

especially : compound microscope

2

: a non-optical instrument (such as one using radiations other than light or using vibrations) for making enlarged images of minute objects

an acoustic microscope

Examples of microscope in a Sentence

Students viewed the crystals through a microscope.

Recent Examples on the Web

Moore, who served two seasons as head coach, was already under a microscope earlier this year when he was suspended for two games during the 2025 season amid an NCAA sign-stealing investigation. —Dejanay Booth-Singleton, CBS News, 18 Dec. 2025

But Epstein apparently wasn’t worried about being under the FBI’s microscope. —Julie K. Brown, Miami Herald, 18 Dec. 2025

Captured under a microscope by a research team at the Technical University of Darmstadt (TU Darmstadt) in Germany, the oil droplets’ striking behavior points to a previously unknown fluid phenomenon. —Georgina Jedikovska, Interesting Engineering, 17 Dec. 2025

Instead of being filled with whirring and grinding, the air is quiet, as workers in dozens of open-air cubicles assemble tiny electronic parts under microscopes. —Camila Domonoske, NPR, 16 Dec. 2025

Word History

Etymology

New Latin microscopium, from micr- + -scopium -scope

First Known Use

1648, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Phrases Containing microscope

• atomic force microscope
• compound microscope
• dark-field microscope
• dissecting microscope
• electron microscope
• phase-contrast microscope
• put under the microscope
• scanning electron microscope
• scanning tunneling microscope
• under a/the microscope

Rhymes for microscope

• antelope
• bronchoscope
• cantaloupe
• cystoscope
• endoscope
• envelope
• epitope
• gyroscope
• horoscope
• isotope
• misanthrope
• pericope

Kids Definition

microscope

noun

mi·​cro·​scope ˈmī-krə-ˌskōp 

1

: an optical instrument consisting of a lens or a combination of lenses for making enlarged or magnified images of minute objects

2

: an instrument using radiation other than light for making enlarged images of very small objects

Medical Definition

microscope

noun

mi·​cro·​scope ˈmī-krə-ˌskōp 

1

: an optical instrument consisting of a lens or combination of lenses for making enlarged images of minute objects

especially : compound microscope see light microscope, phase-contrast microscope, polarizing microscope, reflecting microscope, ultraviolet microscope

2

: an instrument using radiations other than light or using vibrations for making enlarged images of minute objects

an acoustic microscope

see electron microscope, scanning electron microscope, x-ray microscope