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• scan
  scan

  verb (used with object)

  to glance at or over or read hastily.
• Scan.
  Scan.

  abbreviation

  Scandinavia.

scan

¹ American  

[skan] / skæn /

verb (used with object)

• scans,
  present (3rd person singular)
• scanned,
  past participle,  past
• scanning
  present participle

1. to glance at or over or read hastily.

   to scan a page.

   Synonyms:

   skim

2. to examine the particulars or points of minutely; scrutinize.

   Synonyms:

   inspect, investigate, study

3. to peer out at or observe repeatedly or sweepingly, as a large expanse; survey.

4. to analyze (verse) as to its prosodic or metrical structure; read or recite (verse) so as to indicate or test the metrical form.

5. to read (data) for use by a computer or computerized device, especially using an optical scanner.

6. Television. to traverse (a surface) with a beam of light or electrons in order to reproduce or transmit a picture.

7. Radar. to traverse (a region) with a beam from a radar transmitter.

8. Medicine/Medical, Biology. to examine (a body, organ, tissue, or other biologically active material) with a scanner.

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verb (used without object)

• scans,
  present (3rd person singular)
• scanned,
  past participle,  past
• scanning
  present participle

1. to examine the meter of verse.

2. (of verse) to conform to the rules of meter.

3. Television. to scan a surface or the like.

noun

• scans
  plural

1. an act or instance of scanning; close examination.

2. a 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.

3. a particular image or frame in such video observation or a photograph made from it.

4. Medicine/Medical, Biology.

   1. examination 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.

   2. the image or display so obtained.

Scan. ² American  

abbreviation

1. Scandinavia.

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scan British  

/ skæn /

verb

1. (tr) to scrutinize minutely

2. (tr) to glance over quickly

3. (tr) prosody to read or analyse (verse) according to the rules of metre and versification

4. (intr) prosody to conform to the rules of metre and versification

5. (tr) electronics 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

6. (tr) to examine data stored on (magnetic tape, etc), usually in order to retrieve information

7. to examine or search (a prescribed region) by systematically varying the direction of a radar or sonar beam

8. physics to examine or produce or be examined or produced by a continuous charge of some variable

   to scan a spectrum

9. med to obtain an image of (a part of the body) by means of a scanner

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noun

1. the act or an instance of scanning

2. med

   1. the examination of a part of the body by means of a scanner

      a brain scan

      ultrasound scan

   2. the image produced by a scanner

Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• scannable
  adjective
• self-scanned
  adjective
• unscannable
  adjective
• unscanned
  adjective

Inflected Forms

Nouns

• scans
  plural

Participles

• scanning
  present
• scanned
  past

Conjugated Forms

Present

• scan
  simple
• scans
  simple
• have scanned
  perfect
• has scanned
  perfect
• am scanning
  progressive
• are scanning
  progressive
• is scanning
  progressive
• have been scanning
  perfect progressive
• has been scanning
  perfect progressive

Past

• scanned
  simple
• had scanned
  perfect
• was scanning
  progressive
• were scanning
  progressive
• had been scanning
  perfect progressive

Future

• will scan
  simple
• will have scanned
  perfect
• will be scanning
  progressive
• will have been scanning
  perfect progressive

Etymology

Origin of scan

1350–1400; Middle English scannen, variant of *scanden < Late Latin scandere to scan verse, Latin: to climb ( see ascend)

Explanation

When you scan a subway car to see if your friend is on it, your eyes pass quickly across the riders. When you get a scan of your knee at the doctor's office, a much more detailed picture is taken, showing your bones, tendons, and muscles. You might need a medical scan if you are in an accident or have a terrible headache. One of the most common kinds of scans is performed on a pregnant woman, to check out the size and health of her fetus. This kind of scan is called an "ultrasound" or a "sonogram." These use sound waves to take a picture of the inside of a person's body.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

scan scans scanned scanning

The documents indicated the company's aim was to "destructively scan all the books in the world".

From BBC ● Aug. 15, 2026

Supporters say Flock’s cameras, which the company has said scan 20 billion license plates a month, help police fight crime.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 14, 2026

Either way, there were multiple kiosks at Gare du Nord and I breezed through after a passport scan.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 12, 2026

Despite a battery of tests, including a contrast CT scan and bone marrow biopsy, experts could not determine what was making Jackie critically ill.

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 10, 2026

I quickly adjust my cameras to scan all around.

From "A Rover's Story" by Jasmine Warga

The line for those ineligible for the biometric scans, including families with children younger than 12 and those without a chip in their passport, was nearly an hour long.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 12, 2026

Participants visited MIT for a series of MRI scans that recorded patterns of brain activity as they completed different tasks.

From Science Daily ● Aug. 11, 2026

But former health minister Steve Brine says precautionary scans like the one I had "fit the direction of travel of how people are approaching their health".

From BBC ● Aug. 8, 2026

But they do not have access to some of the equipment the hospital has, or the ability to provide some of the services it provides, such as CT scans and sedated intubation.

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 6, 2026

The cop watches us for a while, then scans the room with narrowed eyes.

From "Water for Elephants" by Sara Gruen

Having already scanned his items alongside his Nectar loyalty card, he said he had waved an attendant over.

From BBC ● Aug. 17, 2026

I scanned the parking lot and wondered which one of these luxury vehicles was his.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 24, 2026

Guy scanned the sea of bald caps in vain, then panicked.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 22, 2026

Two years earlier, the FAA had begun to require that all carry-on luggage be X-rayed for weapons and passengers be scanned by a metal detector.

From Slate ● Jul. 7, 2026

Treebaun scanned the room and then pointed to someone I couldn’t see in the front row.

From "Glitch" by Laura Martin

ICE has inked at least six contracts that involve scanning public records for “threats,” paying out nearly $50 million since 2020.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 4, 2026

Recipe development has trained me to distrust a dish that works on the first try; it is like meeting someone wonderful on a first date and spending the evening scanning for red flags.

From Salon ● Aug. 1, 2026

In the third, an unreleased research AI model, couldn’t find the functional target company and looked for alternatives, scanning 9,000 targets on the internet and eventually finding one.

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 1, 2026

The team studied the bone with 3D scanning technology and electron microscopes.

From Science Daily ● Jul. 27, 2026

They dashed from hotel to hotel, scanning the list of names in the registration book and looking for the name "Nicholas."

From Nazi Saboteurs by Samantha Seiple

Related Words

• browse
• check
• examine
• flash
• flip through
• leaf through
• look through
• scour
• search
• skim
• thumb through