telescope
telescope Lexical Profile
telescope Game Scores & Validity
• noun
An optical instrument designed to make distant objects appear nearer, typically containing an arrangement of lenses, or of curved mirrors and lenses, by which rays of light are collected and focused to magnify the resulting image.
"The astronomer spent hours looking through the telescope to observe the rings of Saturn."
Any instrument, such as a radio telescope, used to detect and collect electromagnetic radiation from distant sources in space.
"The observatory installed a massive new radio telescope to capture faint signals from distant galaxies."
• verb
To slide or cause to slide into itself, so that one part overlaps or is contained within another, like the cylindrical sections of a collapsible spyglass.
"During the train crash, several of the passenger cars telescoped into one another."
To condense or make shorter in duration or extent, particularly with reference to time or information.
"The professor had to telescope a semester's worth of material into a three-week intensive course."
• Rhymes for telescope
• Nearby Words
Word Origin & Etymology
Coined in 1611 by the Greek mathematician Giovanni Demisiani for Galileo Galilei's instrument, from the Greek 'tēle' (far) and 'skopein' (to look or see).
Usage Trend
Historical frequency of usage in published text.