Words / B2

MYKR-uh-skohp/ˈmaɪkrəskəʊp/

A microscope makes very small things look larger: calibrate the microscope; under the microscope (also idiom: closely examined). Magnifying glass is weaker and handheld. Calibrate before you count cells. Mix-up: microphone (previous entry); telescope is for distant objects. Do not write “under the microscope” for a telescope practical.

Meaning

An instrument that makes very small things look larger.

Examples

• “Calibrate the microscope before you count the cells.”
• “The trust’s accounts were under the microscope, which is the idiom sense.”

Good to know

a microscope; under the microscope; microscopic. Contrast: telescope / magnifying glass. Trap: microphone. Biology and news idiom. Tiny things, or close scrutiny — not sound.

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