telescope

A telescope is an optical instrument that makes far away objects look closer by using a special arrangement of lenses and mirrors. (noun)

An optical instrument you use to look at the stars that makes the stars appear closer is an example of a telescope.

See telescope in Webster's New World College Dictionary

noun

an optical instrument for making distant objects, as the stars, appear nearer and consequently larger: it consists of two or more lenses or mirrors

adjective

having parts that slide one inside another

to slide or be forced one into another like the concentric tubes of a small, collapsible telescope

transitive verb

See telescope in American Heritage Dictionary 4

(tĕlˈĭ-skōpˌ)

noun

An arrangement of lenses or mirrors or both that gathers visible light, permitting direct observation or photographic recording of distant objects.
Any of various devices, such as a radio telescope, used to detect and observe distant objects by their emission, transmission, reflection, or other interaction with invisible radiation.

verb tel·e·scoped, tel·e·scop·ing, tel·e·scopes

verb, transitive

To cause to slide inward or outward in overlapping sections, as the cylindrical sections of a small hand telescope do.
To make more compact or concise; condense.

verb, intransitive

To slide inward or outward in or as if in overlapping cylindrical sections: a camp bucket that telescopes into a disk.

Learn more about telescope

» telescope synonyms

Related Articles

» When Can I See the Space Station in the Sky?