American Heritage Dictionary: Related Videos: Britannica Concise Encyclopedia: McGraw-Hill Science & Technology Encyclopedia: microscope mi·cro·scope (mī'krə-skōp') n. An optical instrument that uses a lens or a combination of lenses to produce magnified images of small objects, especially of objects too small to be seen by the unaided eye. 1. An instrument, such as an electron microscope, that uses electronic or other processes to magnify objects. 2. microscope Click to Play How to Use Virtual Microscope Click to Play Motion 3: Focusing Microscope Click to Play Dimensional Plastic Slide Page Click to Play Chemotherapy Tailored to Your Genes View more Science videos microscope Instrument that produces enlarged images of small objects, allowing them to be viewed at a scale convenient for examination and analysis. Formed by various means, the image is received by direct imaging, electronic processing, or a combination of these methods. The most familiar type of microscope is the optical, or light, microscope, in which lenses are used to form the image. Other types of microscopes use the wave nature of various physical processes, the most important being the electron microscope (see electron microscopy), which uses a beam of electrons in its image formation. Crude microscopes date to the mid- 15th century, but not until 1674 were the powerful microscopes of A. van Leeuwenhoek able to detect phenomena as small as protozoans. For more information on microscope , visit Britannica.com. Microscope An instrument used to obtain an enlarged image of a small object. The image may be seen, photographed, or sensed by photocells or other receivers, depending upon the nature of the image and the use to be made of the information of the image. A simple microscope, hand lens, or magnifier usually is a round piece of transparent material, ground thinner at the edge than at the center, which can form an enlarged image of a small English▼ Page 1 of 16 microscope: Definition from Answers.com 02-07-2011 http://www.answers.com/topic/microscope