telescope

/ˈtɛləˌskoʊp/
noun
  1. An instrument shaped like a long tube that uses lenses or mirrors to make distant objects appear larger and closer.
    • She looked at the moon through her new telescope.
    • The observatory's giant telescope can see galaxies millions of light-years away.
    • He bought a small telescope for birdwatching on the lake.
verb
  1. To slide or collapse into a shorter form, like the sections of a telescope.
    • The car's front end telescoped on impact with the wall.
    • The metal rod telescopes so you can adjust its length.
    • The camping chair telescopes down into a small bag.
  2. To shorten or condense something, such as time or information.
    • In her speech, she telescoped years of history into a few sentences.
    • The training course was telescoped into just two weeks.
    • The director telescoped the three-hour play into a 90-minute movie.
What does "telescope" mean? | whatsthatwordmean | whatsthatwordmean