Definitions

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.

  • adjective Of or relating to a telescope.
  • adjective Seen or obtained by means of a telescope.
  • adjective Visible only by means of a telescope.
  • adjective Capable of discerning distant objects.
  • adjective Extensible or compressible by or as if by the sliding of overlapping sections.

from The Century Dictionary.

  • Of or pertaining to the telescope or its use; obtained by means of a telescope: as, a telescopic view of the moon.
  • That can be seen or discovered by the telescope only: as, telescopic stars.
  • Seeing at a great distance; far-seeing.
  • Capable of being extended or shut up like a spy-glass; having joints or sections which slide one within another; especially, in machinery, constructed of concentric tubes, either stationary, as in the telescopic boiler, or movable, as in the telescopic chimney of a war-vessel, which may be lowered out of sight in action, or in the telescopic jack, a screw-jack in which the lifting head is raised by the action of two screws having reversed threads, one working within the other, and both sinking or telescoping within the base—an arrangement by which greater power is obtained.
  • In zoology: Stalked; mounted on an ophthalmite, stem, or peduncle, as an eye.
  • Capable of protrusion and retraction, as if jointed like a telescope, or like the joints of a telescope: as, telescopic eyes, feelers, horns, or feet.

from the GNU version of the Collaborative International Dictionary of English.

  • adjective Of or pertaining to a telescope; performed by a telescope.
  • adjective Seen or discoverable only by a telescope.
  • adjective Able to discern objects at a distance; farseeing; far-reaching.
  • adjective Having the power of extension by joints sliding one within another, like the tube of a small telescope or a spyglass; especially (Mach.), constructed of concentric tubes, either stationary, as in the telescopic boiler, or movable, as in the telescopic chimney of a war vessel, which may be put out of sight by being lowered endwise.

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.

  • adjective of, relating to, obtained with, or observable using a telescope
  • adjective capable of seeing distant objects
  • adjective capable of being extended or compressed by the use of parts that slide over one another
  • adjective Seen or discoverable only by means of a telescope.

from WordNet 3.0 Copyright 2006 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.

  • adjective visible only with a telescope
  • adjective having parts that slide one within another
  • adjective capable of discerning distant objects

Etymologies

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 4th Edition

[telescope + –ic.]

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Examples

  • These kind of cylinders are called telescopic cylinders.

    TravelPod.com TravelStream™ — Recent Entries at TravelPod.com 2009

  • Through a kind of telescopic lens I saw before me a city in heaven and the essence which alone I sought to capture.

    Naomi Shemer. 2009

  • Collapsible "telescopic" carbon alphorns are easy to lug around, and, thus, take on tour.

    Rocking the Alphorn 2008

  • He scorned all modern appliances for shooting, such as telescopic sights or automatic rifles; he invariably used a short double-barrelled rifle, and his exceptionally keen sight rendered glasses unnecessary.

    Im Weltkriege. English Ottokar Theobald Otto Maria Czernin von und zu Chudenitz 1902

  • It appears to have been his object to convert the mind of Alice into a kind of telescopic medium, through which Mr. Pyncheon and himself might obtain a glimpse into the spiritual world.

    The House of the Seven Gables 1851

  • It appears to have been his object to convert the mind of Alice into a kind of telescopic medium, through which Mr. Pyncheon and himself might obtain a glimpse into the spiritual world.

    The House of the Seven Gables 1851

  • Alice into a kind of telescopic medium, through which Mr. Pyncheon and himself might obtain a glimpse into the spiritual world.

    House of the Seven Gables Nathaniel Hawthorne 1834

  • One said there has been an increase in the number of families who are charged "telescopic" supply rates.

    Analysis 2010

  • Won, but had complaints from the Kiwis that the "telescopic" sight (i.e. The SUSAT) made it an unfair match.

    Army Rumour Service 2010

  • Won, but had complaints from the Kiwis that the "telescopic" sight (i.e. The SUSAT) made it an unfair match.

    Army Rumour Service 2010

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  • "Capable of being extended or shut up like a spy-glass; having joints or sections which slide one within another; especially, in machinery, constructed of concentric tubes, either stationary, as in the telescopic boiler, or movable, as in the telescopic chimney of a war-vessel, which may be lowered out of sight in action, or in the telescopic jack, a screw-jack in which the lifting head is raised by the action of two screws having reversed threads, one working within the other, and both sinking or telescoping within the base—an arrangement by which greater power is obtained."

    -- Century Dictionary

    September 2, 2016