UK:**UK and possibly other pronunciationsUK and possibly other pronunciations/ˈskæn/US:USA pronunciation: IPA and respellingUSA pronunciation: IPA/skæn/ ,USA pronunciation: respelling(skan)
scan/skæn/USA pronunciationv.,scanned, scan•ning,n. v.
to examine (something) carefully; scrutinize:[~ + object]scanning the crowd for his parents' faces.
to read quickly or hastily:[~ + object]scanned the newspaper.
to observe repeatedly or in sweeping motions:[~ + object]The lookouts scanned the horizon for enemy planes.
Poetry[~ + object] to analyze (poetry) in order to understand its meter.
Poetry (of lines of poetry) to conform to or agree with the rules of meter:[no object]That poem doesn't scan.
Computing to read (data) for use by a computer, esp. by means of a piece of equipment that records a picture for use by a computer:[~ + object]to scan the photograph and reproduce it on the screen.
Medicine to examine (a body part) with a scanner:[~ + object]to scan the kidneys.
to glance at or over or read hastily:to scan a page.
to examine the particulars or points of minutely; scrutinize.
to peer out at or observe repeatedly or sweepingly, as a large expanse; survey.
Poetryto analyze (verse) as to its prosodic or metrical structure; read or recite (verse) so as to indicate or test the metrical form.
Computingto read (data) for use by a computer or computerized device, esp. using an optical scanner.
Radio and Television[Television.]to traverse (a surface) with a beam of light or electrons in order to reproduce or transmit a picture.
Electronics[Radar.]to traverse (a region) with a beam from a radar transmitter.
Medicineto examine (a body, organ, tissue, or other biologically active material) with a scanner.
v.i.
Poetryto examine the meter of verse.
Poetry(of verse) to conform to the rules of meter.
Radio and Television[Television.]to scan a surface or the like.
n.
an act or instance of scanning; close examination.
Radio and Televisiona visual examination by means of a television camera, as for the purpose of making visible or relaying pictures from a remote place:a satellite scan of the dark side of the moon; video scans of property listings available to customers.
Radio and Televisiona particular image or frame in such video observation or a photograph made from it.
Medicine
Medicineexamination of the body or an organ or part, or a biologically active material, by means of a technique such as computed axial tomography, nuclear magnetic resonance, ultrasonography, or scintigraphy.
the image or display so obtained.
Late Latin scandere to scan verse, Latin: to climb (see ascend)
Middle English scannen, variant of *scanden 1350–1400
(transitive) to read or analyse (verse) according to the rules of metre and versification
(intransitive) to conform to the rules of metre and versification
(transitive) to move a beam of light, electrons, etc, in a predetermined pattern over (a surface or region) to obtain information, esp either to sense and transmit or to reproduce a television image
(transitive) to examine data stored on (magnetic tape, etc), usually in order to retrieve information
to examine or search (a prescribed region) by systematically varying the direction of a radar or sonar beam
to obtain an image of (a part of the body) by means of a scanner
n
the act or an instance of scanning
the examination of a part of the body by means of a scanner: a brain scan, ultrasound scan
the image produced by a scanner
Etymology: 14th Century: from Late Latin scandere to scan (verse), from Latin: to climbˈscannableadj
'scan' also found in these entries (note: many are not synonyms or translations):