Definition of "microscope"

microscope

/ˈmaɪ.kɹəˌskəʊp/

noun
plural microscopes
1. An optical instrument used for observing small objects.
  Quotations
  That he might ascertain whether any of the cloths of ancient Egypt were made of hemp, M. Dutrochet has examined with the microscope the weavable filaments of this last vegetable.
  1837, The Edinburgh New Philosophical Journal, volume 23, page 222
2. Any instrument for imaging very small objects (such as an electron microscope).
verb
third-person singular simple present microscopes, present participle microscoping, simple past and past participle microscoped
1. To examine with a microscope, to put under a microscope (literally or figuratively).
  Quotations
  It has a strong germicidal action, as can be verified by staining and microscoping the pus, the characteristic micro-organisms disappearing rapidly under its use.
  1897, The Clinical Journal, page 200
  Wright (1959), using the standard and less laborious technique of microscoping the centrifuged deposit of a sample of urine, found that 21.6% of males attending life insurance examinations had more than 10 red blood cells per high power field (rbc/hpf).
  2012, E.J. Zingg, D.M.A. Wallace, Bladder Cancer, Springer Science & Business Media, page 79