Definitions

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

  • noun An instrument used to cut a specimen, as of organic tissue, into thin sections for microscopic examination.

from The Century Dictionary.

  • To cut (a tissue or organ) into thin sections with the aid of a microtome.
  • noun An instrument for making very fine sections or thin slices of objects for microscopic examination.

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

  • noun An instrument for making very thin sections for microscopical examination.

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

  • noun A special instrument that produces very thin slices of plant and animal tissues, for later examination by light microscope or electron microscope.
  • verb To cut into sections using a microtome

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

  • noun scientific instrument that cuts thin slices of something for microscopic examination

Etymologies

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License

Could be construed as either micro +‎ -tome or micro- +‎ tome.

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Examples

Comments

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  • A machine for slicing substances very very thin for examination under a microscope.

    July 15, 2007

  • Daffynition: A tiny, tiny book of substantial proportions.

    July 15, 2007