an informal shortened form of instruments like a telescope, microscope, or periscope used for looking at things closely or far away
He set up his scope in the backyard to watch the moon.
The scientist placed the slide under the scope for closer inspection.
the range of subjects, tasks, or things that something deals with or includes
The scope of the project includes building new classrooms and a library.
Please keep your presentation within the scope of environmental science.
✦ From Latin ‘scopos’ via French ‘scope’, meaning ‘target’ or ‘aim’; later broadened in English to mean ‘area covered’.
the freedom or opportunity to develop something or to do something
Small companies often have more scope for creativity than large corporations.
The scholarship gives students greater scope to study abroad.
to look at or examine something carefully, often to evaluate it or plan action
They arrived early to scope the best seats in the theater.
The detective scoped the alley for any clues.
in programming, the part of a code where a variable or function is accessible
Inside the loop, the variable is only in scope until the loop ends.
Defining a constant at the top gives it global scope.
a device with lenses or mirrors that makes far-away objects look bigger and closer so you can see them clearly
The young girl pointed her telescope at the moon and gasped in wonder.
From the mountain cabin, the elderly man set up a telescope to watch the distant eagles’ nest.
✦ From Italian ‘telescopio’, coined in the early 17th century from Greek ‘tēle’ meaning “far” and ‘skopein’ meaning “to look at”.
