telescope

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tel·e·scope / ˈteləˌskōp/ • n. an optical instrument designed to make distant objects appear nearer, containing an arrangement of lenses, or of curved mirrors and lenses, by which rays of light are collected and focused and the resulting image magnified. ∎ short for radio telescope.• v. [tr.] cause (an object made of concentric tubular parts) to slide into itself, so that it becomes smaller. ∎  [intr.] be capable of sliding together in this way: five steel sections that telescope into one another. ∎  crush (a vehicle) by the force of an impact. ∎ fig. condense or conflate so as to occupy less space or time: a way of telescoping many events into a relatively brief period.

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