scan
verbnouncommon in dialogue
- United Kingdom//skan//
- United States//skæn//
- New Zealand//skɛn//
To examine sequentially, carefully, or critically; to scrutinize; to behold closely.
verb
- 1
To examine sequentially, carefully, or critically; to scrutinize; to behold closely.
She scanned the passage carefully but could not find what she was looking for.
He scanned the horizon.
Yet the incident did not in the least diminish my respect for my teacher. I was by nature blind to the faults of elders. Later I came to know of many other failings of this teacher, but my regard for him remained the same. For I had learnt to carry out the orders of elders, not to scan their actions.
Slowly, he scanned the horizon, listening, watching for the signs he had been taught.
- 2
To examine sequentially, carefully, or critically; to scrutinize; to behold closely. To inspect, analyse or go over, often to find something.
to scan the hard drive for errors
- 3
To look about for; to look over quickly.
- 4
To look about for; to look over quickly. To perform lexical analysis; to tokenize.
- 5
To create an image of something with the use of a scanner.
to scan a photograph
to scan internal organs by means of computed tomography
Pencil drawings don't scan very well.
- 6
To read with an electronic device.
to scan a barcode
to scan a QR code
In the dispute with the RMT about scanning tickets, Jackson said it was the right thing to do to pay conductors something to scan tickets. Northern pays two pence per scan, Jackson noted, adding that ticket scanning helps to cut fraud and increase staff visibility.
- 7
obsoleteTo mount by steps; to go through with step by step.
But ere these matchless heights I dare to scan, / There is a spot should not be pass'd in vain,— / Morat ! the proud, the patriot field ! where man / May gaze on ghastly trophies of the slain,[…]
- 8
To read or mark so as to show a specific metre.
In such cases as these, almost any one with a good ear will "scan" the verse correctly enough without instruction. It is not proposed to give here a list of Shakspere's slurred and contracted words; […]
- 9
To conform to a metrical structure.
You're right, sir, it doesn't scan very well in the English, but in the Gaelic it's sheer poetry. Have you the Gaelic?
Etymology
From late Middle English scanne (“to mark off verse to show metrical structure”), from earlier scanden, from Late Latin scandere (“to scan verse”), from Classical Latin scandō (“to climb, rise, mount”), from Proto-Indo-European *skend- (“to jump, dart, climb, scale, scan”).
noun
- 1
A close investigation. Of written things, a careful reading.
- 2
A close investigation. Of written things, a cursory reading: a skim.
- 3
An instance of scanning.
The operators vacated the room during the scan.
In the dispute with the RMT about scanning tickets, Jackson said it was the right thing to do to pay conductors something to scan tickets. Northern pays two pence per scan, Jackson noted, adding that ticket scanning helps to cut fraud and increase staff visibility.
- 4
The result or output of a scanning process.
The doctors looked at the scans and made a diagnosis.
- 5
A higher-order function that applies a binary operation to a sequence of values, starting with an accumulator, and returns a new sequence with the results.
Forms
- plural
- scans
- past tense
- scanned
- past participle
- scanned
- present participle
- scanning
- third person singular
- scans
scan · To examine sequentially, carefully, or critically; to scrutinize; to behold closely.
scandal · An incident or event that disgraces or damages the reputation…scandalous · Of a thing: causing or having the nature of a scandal;…scanned · Converted to a digital format using a scanner.