/ˈmīkrəˌskōp/
Noun, pl. microscopes
1. An instrument used to see objects that are too small for the naked eye. The science of investigating small objects using such an instrument is called microscopy. Microscopic means invisible to the eye unless aided by a microscope. (wikipedia.org)
2. An optical instrument used for observing small objects. (wiktionary.org)
3. Any instrument for imaging very small objects (such as an electron microscope). (wiktionary.org)
4. A piece of laboratory equipment that is used to magnify small things that are too small to be seen by the naked eye, or too small for the details to be seen by the naked eye, so that their finer details can be seen and studied.
Examples are the light (or optical) microscope, electron microscope, X-ray microscope, and acoustic microscope. Magnifier of the image of small objects; the invention of the microscope led to the discovery of the cell.An instrument that can be used to magnify the size of an object for study purposes, and is the instrument that can be used to investigate microorganisms and other Biological matter more closely.
(biology-online.org)
Word origin: From Modern Latin microscopium, literally “an instrument for viewing what is small,” from Greek micro- + –skopion, from skopein “to look, see”