scan
verb (used with object)
to glance at or over or read hastily.
had been scanning
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past perfect progressiveof scan.past perfect progressive
Used to describe an action that was ongoing continuously in the past up until another past event interrupted it.
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
Thomas had been scanning with a metal detector for two years, having seen people doing in on television.
From BBC ● Sep. 17, 2026
“We got them,” he said to his colleague, who had been scanning the terrain.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 15, 2025
A similar cohort of Chinese IP addresses had been scanning the internet for low level, easily exploitable vulnerabilities since Friday, he added, and did not match the usual activity carried out by Chinese government hackers.
From Reuters ● Aug. 2, 2022
While we on the Akademik Fedorov had been scanning one local area, scientists onboard the nearby German ship had been checking a strange floe southeast of us.
From Scientific American ● Oct. 15, 2019
The animal, whom he had been scanning as an artist would, as a type, out of the corner of his eye, was revealing himself.
From The "Genius" by Theodore Dreiser
