microscopic

UK: /ˌmaɪkrəˈskɒpɪk/ US: /ˌmaɪkrəˈskɑpɪk/ ,(mī′krə skop′ik)

WordReference Random House Learner's Dictionary of American English © 2026

mi•cro•scop•ic /ˌmaɪkrəˈskɑpɪk/  also mi•cro•scop•i•cal /ˌmaɪkrəˈskɑpɪkəl/   adj. 

1. too small to be visible without a microscope.
2. very small;
   tiny:
   He brushed a microscopic fleck of dust off his jacket.
3. very detailed;
   meticulous:
   a microscopic analysis.

mi•cro•scop•i•cal•ly, adv. See -scope-.

WordReference Random House Unabridged Dictionary of American English © 2026

mi•cro•scop•ic  (mī′krə skop′ik), adj. 

1. so small as to be invisible or indistinct without the use of the microscope:
   microscopic organisms.
   Cf. macroscopic. 
2. very small;
   tiny.
3. of, pertaining to, or involving a microscope:
   microscopic investigation.
4. very detailed;
   meticulous:
   a microscopic view of society.
5. suggestive of the precise use of the microscope;
   minute:
   microscopic exactness.

Also, mi′cro•scop′i•cal. 

• microscope + -ic 1670–80

mi′cro•scop′i•cal•ly, adv. 

Collins Concise English Dictionary © HarperCollins Publishers::

microscopic / ˌmaɪkrəˈskɒpɪk/, (less commonly)microscopical adjective

1. not large enough to be seen with the naked eye but visible under a microscope
   Compare macroscopic
2. very small; minute
3. of, concerned with, or using a microscope

ˌmicroˈscopically adverb