Word.ws English Dictionary

under the microscope

under the microscope adverb: under close scrutiny or examination.

Adverb

under the microscope

  1. (figuratively, idiomatic) Under close scrutiny or examination.
    • Our people get beat on so much, and because we are under the microscope, it is good for us once in a while to understand that VA folks are really great people and they are trying to do their job and they are very compassionate.1994, United States, Congress, House, Committee on Appropriations, Subcommittee on VA, HUD, and Independent Agencies, Departments of Veterans Affairs and Housing and Urban Development, and...
  2. Used other than figuratively or idiomatically: see under, the, microscope.

Synonyms of under the microscope

Questions about under the microscope

What does under the microscope mean?
Under the microscope means under close scrutiny or examination.
What part of speech is under the microscope?
Under the microscope is an adverb.

Words near under the microscope in the dictionary

  1. under the knife
  2. under the lee
  3. under the loupe
  4. under the magnifying glass
  5. under the mahogany
  6. under the microscope
  7. under the plough
  8. under the pump
  9. under the radar
  10. under the rose
  11. under the rug

Source and license

Adapted from Wiktionary: under the microscope (page history and authors). Text available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 license. Word.ws reformatted the entry and added links. Wiktionary data of 2026-09-02.

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Pronunciation audio from Wikimedia Commons, each file under its own free license: En-au-under the microscope.ogg.

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