telescope

telescope — noun

1. a long tube-shaped tool with special glass pieces (lenses) inside, used to make

1.nounB1
Definition

a long tube-shaped tool with special glass pieces (lenses) inside, used to make far-away things such as stars, mountains, or ships look bigger and clearer.

Example

Hiro pointed his telescope at the night sky and saw Jupiter's moons clearly.

point + at + look through with telescope

The school science club bought a powerful new telescope for the observatory roof.

collocation: powerful telescope

Common collocations
  • powerful telescope
  • look through a telescope
  • point a telescope at
  • astronomical telescope
  • telescope lens
Synonyms
  • spyglass

    an old-fashioned, usually hand-held telescope, associated with sailors and explorers

  • scope

    informal short form of telescope, common among amateur astronomers and hunters

Antonyms
  • microscope

    an instrument for looking at very small things up close, the opposite purpose of a telescope

Grammar Patterns

a [adjective] telescope

through a/the telescope

with a telescope

Usage Note

The plural telescopes is common. In informal conversation, the clipped form 'scope' is sometimes used among hobbyists (e.g., 'Take a look through my scope').

Common Mistakes

I looked at the bacteria through my telescope.
I looked at the bacteria through my microscope.
A telescope makes far objects look bigger; a microscope makes tiny nearby objects look bigger.

telescope — verb

Word family

  • telescopic
    adjectiveB2
  • telescoping
    adjectiveC1

Synonym discussion

Sense: noun/1

Telescope, binoculars, microscope, spyglass, and periscope are all optical viewing devices, but each serves a different purpose. A telescope uses lenses or mirrors to make distant objects — like stars or mountain peaks — appear closer and larger, typically viewed with one eye. Binoculars are essentially two small telescopes joined together, letting you use both eyes for a wider, three-dimensional view; they are common for birdwatching and sports events. A microscope magnifies extremely small objects placed right in front of it, such as cells or insect parts. A spyglass is a small, hand-held telescope associated with sailors and explorers from earlier centuries. A periscope uses mirrors to let you see around obstacles or above water without direct line of sight. For example, you might say 'Hiro examined the moon through his telescope,' but 'Inês examined the onion cells under her microscope.'

binoculars ↗microscope ↗spyglassperiscope

Common collocations

Nouns

Adverbs

Phrases

Prepositions

Etymology

GreekItalianEnglish

The word telescope comes from the Greek roots 'tele' meaning 'far' or 'at a distance' and 'skopein' meaning 'to look at' or 'to examine'. It entered English in the 1600s from the Italian word 'telescopio', which was coined by the mathematician Giovanni Demisiani for Galileo's new invention. The verb sense — meaning to slide parts together like a collapsible telescope — developed in the 1800s, first describing train crashes where cars pushed into one another, and later extending to any telescoping mechanism.