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• pan
  pan

  noun

  a broad, shallow container of metal, usually having sides flaring outward toward the top, used in various forms for frying, baking, washing, etc.
• Pan
  Pan

  noun

  the ancient Greek god of forests, pastures, flocks, and shepherds, represented with the head, chest, and arms of a man and the legs and sometimes the horns and ears of a goat.
• pan-
  pan-

  a combining form meaning “all,” occurring originally in loanwords from Greek (panacea; panoply ), but now used freely as a general formative (panleukopenia; panorama; pantelegraph; pantheism; pantonality ), and especially in terms, formed at will, implying the union of all branches of a group (Pan-Christian; Panhellenic; Pan-Slavism ). The hyphen and the second capital tend with longer use to be lost, unless they are retained in order to set off clearly the component parts.
• Pan.
  Pan.

  abbreviation

  Panama.

pan

¹ American  

[pan] / pæn /

noun

1. a broad, shallow container of metal, usually having sides flaring outward toward the top, used in various forms for frying, baking, washing, etc.

2. any similar receptacle or part, as the scales of a balance.

3. the amount a pan holds or can hold; panful.

   a pan of shelled peas.

4. any of various open or closed containers used in industrial or mechanical processes.

5. a container in which silver ores are ground and amalgamated.

6. a container in which gold or other heavy, valuable metals are separated from gravel or other substances by agitation with water.

7. a drifting piece of flat, thin ice, as formed on a shore or bay.

8. a natural depression in the ground, as one containing water, mud, or mineral salts.

9. a similar depression made artificially, as for evaporating salt water to make salt.

10. (in old guns) the depressed part of the lock, holding the priming.

11. Also panning an unfavorable review, critique, or appraisal.

    The show got one rave and three pans.

12. Slang. the face.

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verb (used with object)

panned, panning

1. Informal. to criticize severely, as in a review of a play.

2. 1. to wash (gravel, sand, etc.) in a pan to separate gold or other heavy, valuable metal.

   2. to separate (gold or other heavy, valuable metal) from gravel or sand in this way.

3. to cook or bake in a pan.

verb (used without object)

panned, panning

1. to wash gravel, sand, etc., in a pan in seeking gold or the like.

2. to yield gold or the like, as gravel washed in a pan.

verb phrase

1. pan out to turn out, especially successfully.

   The couple's reconciliation just didn't pan out.

pan ² American  

[pan] / pæn /

verb (used without object)

panned, panning

1. to film, photograph, or televise something with the camera fixed in place and pivoted horizontally left or right, in order to keep a moving person or object in view or to capture a wide view.

   They usually pan from one end of the playing field to the other during the opening of the football game.

2. (of a camera) to be pivoted horizontally to the right or left from a fixed place in order to keep a moving person or object in view or to capture a wide view.

   The cameras panned occasionally during the scene.

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verb (used with object)

panned, panning

1. to pivot (a camera) on its horizontal axis in order to follow a moving person or thing, or to capture an extended view.

   to pan the camera across the scene.

2. to photograph, film, or televise (a scene, moving character, etc.) by pivoting the camera on its horizontal axis.

   pan the skyline.

3. Audio. to direct (a signal output) to one of the speakers in a sound system, to a point between speakers, or, especially, through a continuum from one side to the other to create the impression that the source is moving.

   They gradually panned the vocal recording from the right to the left channel as the song progressed.

noun

1. the act of pivoting a camera, which is fixed in place, to the left or right.

2. Also called panning shot.  the filmed shot resulting from this.

pan ³ American  

[pan] / pæn /

noun

1. a major vertical division of a wall.

2. a nogged panel of half-timber construction.

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pan ⁴ American  

[pahn] / pɑn /

noun

1. the leaf of the betel.

2. a substance, especially betel nut or a betel-nut mixture, used for chewing.

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pan ⁵ American  

[pahn] / pɑn /

noun

Informal.

1. panguingue.

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Pan ⁶ American  

[pan] / pæn /

noun

1. the ancient Greek god of forests, pastures, flocks, and shepherds, represented with the head, chest, and arms of a man and the legs and sometimes the horns and ears of a goat.

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pan- ⁷ American  

1. a combining form meaning “all,” occurring originally in loanwords from Greek (panacea; panoply ), but now used freely as a general formative (panleukopenia; panorama; pantelegraph; pantheism; pantonality ), and especially in terms, formed at will, implying the union of all branches of a group (Pan-Christian; Panhellenic; Pan-Slavism ). The hyphen and the second capital tend with longer use to be lost, unless they are retained in order to set off clearly the component parts.

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Pan. ⁸ American  

abbreviation

1. Panama.

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pan ¹ British  

/ pɑːn, pæn /

noun

1. the leaf of the betel tree

2. a preparation of this leaf which is chewed, together with betel nuts and lime, in India and the East Indies

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Pan. ² British  

abbreviation

1. Panama

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pan ³ British  

/ pæn /

verb

1. to move (a film camera) or (of a film camera) to be moved so as to follow a moving object or obtain a panoramic effect

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noun

1. 1. the act of panning

   2. ( as modifier )

      a pan shot

Pan ⁴ British  

/ pæn /

noun

1. Greek myth the god of fields, woods, shepherds, and flocks, represented as a man with a goat's legs, horns, and ears

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pan ⁵ British  

/ pæn /

noun

1. 1. a wide metal vessel used in cooking

   2. ( in combination )

      saucepan

2. Also called: panful.  the amount such a vessel will hold

3. any of various similar vessels used esp in industry, as for boiling liquids

4. a dish used by prospectors, esp gold prospectors, for separating a valuable mineral from the gravel or earth containing it by washing and agitating

5. either of the two dishlike receptacles on a balance

6. Also called: lavatory pan.  the bowl of a lavatory

7. 1. a natural or artificial depression in the ground where salt can be obtained by the evaporation of brine

   2. a natural depression containing water or mud

8. the indented top from an oil drum used as the treble drum in a steel band

9. See hardpan brainpan

10. a small ice floe

11. a slang word for face

12. a small cavity containing priming powder in the locks of old guns

13. a hard substratum of soil

14. short for pan loaf

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verb

1. to wash (gravel) in a pan to separate particles of (valuable minerals) from it

2. (of gravel) to yield valuable minerals by this process

3. informal (tr) to criticize harshly

   the critics panned his new play

pan- ⁶ British  

combining form

1. all or every

   panchromatic

2. including or relating to all parts or members

   Pan-African

   pantheistic

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Pan Cultural  

1. The Greek god of flocks, forests, meadows, and shepherds. He had the horns and feet of a goat. Pan frolicked about the landscape, playing delightful tunes.

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pan Idioms  

More idioms and phrases containing pan

• flash in the pan
• out of the frying pan

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Usage

What does pan- mean? Pan- is a combining form used like a prefix meaning “all.” It is often used in a variety of scientific and technical terms, particularly in pathology. Pan- comes from the Greek pâs, meaning “all.” The term pancreas, a gland in the stomach, is ultimately related to this same Greek root. So do panacea and many other words English gets from Greek. The equivalent form derived from Latin is omni-, as in omnivore, which comes from Latin omnis, “all.”What are variants of pan-?Pan- is a variant of panto-. Another variant of pan- is pant-, as in pantalgia. Want to know more? Read our Words That Use articles on pant- and panto-.

Discover More

According to legend, Pan was the source of scary noises in the wilderness at night. Fright at these noises was called “panic.”

Pan's musical instrument was a set of reed pipes, the “pipes of Pan.”

Other Word Forms

• panner
  noun

Etymology

Origin of pan¹

First recorded before 900; Middle English, Old English panne; cognate with Dutch pan, German Pfanne, Old Norse panna; further origin uncertain, perhaps from assumed Vulgar Latin patna, panna “pan,” from Latin patena, patina “shallow dish, shallow pan, stewpan,” from Greek patánē “dish, flat dish.” Pan, in the sense “face,” is an Americanism first recorded in 1920–25; see origin at paten ( def. )

Origin of pan²

First recorded in 1920–25; shortening of panorama

Origin of pan³

First recorded in 1735–45; from French, Middle French; see origin at pane

Origin of pan⁴

First recorded in 1610–20; from Hindi pān; compare Pali, Prakrit paṇṇa, Sanskrit parṇa “leaf, betel leaf”

Origin of pan⁵

First recorded in 1935–40; by shortening

Origin of pan-⁷

< Greek pan- combining form of pâs (neuter pân ) all, every, pân everything

Explanation

A pan can be a cooking utensil, a negative opinion, or a sweeping camera shot. You cook eggs in a pan, but as a film critic you might pan a new docudrama for poor editing and overuse of pan shots. A pan is a shallow metal object that you use to cook food. It can also be a verb indicating you're expressing a negative view. To pan a performance, book, or movie is to say that you think it stunk. If all the critics pan something, sales usually go down, but not always. To pan a film or video camera is to move it from left to right or right to left in a smooth motion.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

pan Pan pan- Pan. panned panning

Each year, the 70 family shareholders come to Tennessee for the Lodge Cast Iron pan company’s annual meeting; the extended family, every five years on the company’s dime.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 19, 2026

But the 2025-26 season did not pan out as anticipated.

From BBC ● Aug. 17, 2026

Add water 1 tablespoon at a time if the pan gets dry.

From Salon ● Aug. 16, 2026

Obviously, I had read the book beforehand, so I had an idea of what she was going to go through, but I didn’t necessarily know how it was going pan out onscreen.

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 13, 2026

The pan tree was pleasant enough, but it was kind of boring.

From "All About Sam" by Lois Lowry

In 1936, Pan American Airways flew passengers from San Francisco to Honolulu for $356, the equivalent of more than $8,000 in today’s dollars.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 20, 2026

“There is no data supporting doing this in separate shots,” Pan said.

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 15, 2026

Beyond scheduling difficulties for parents, clinics and doctors’ offices, no company even makes separate immunizations for measles, mumps and rubella, Pan said.

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 15, 2026

For Gallo and his team of Aditya Aney, Tao Pan and William Koor, “both the AI and private credit universes face significant volatility.”

From MarketWatch ● Aug. 5, 2026

The songs are culled from folk, stage musicals, patriotic songs, Tin Pan Alley songs, culturally diverse songs, film songs, and religious songs.

From "Music and the Child" by Natalie Sarrazin

Any of the salmon, halibut, scallops and seafood behind the glass display can be poached, pan- or deep-fried for $3 upon request.

From Seattle Times ● Aug. 9, 2018

These drugs are pan- genotypic -- meaning they are effective across the different types of hepatitis C. They could become the backbone for an Interferon-free combination.

From BusinessWeek ● Feb. 20, 2012

His decisiveness appeals to those Arabs who dream of pan- Arab unification and worship Arab dignity.

From Time Magazine Archive

When the soldiers have crawled out of their graves and the news of the miracle is broadcast over the earth, pan- demonium is loosed.

From Time Magazine Archive

Place in a broiler and broil, or place in a "frying" pan and pan- broil, turning often.

From School and Home Cooking by Carlotta Cherryholmes Greer

A high school friend, Michael Shapot, 62, hit the nail on the proverbial head: “Call me Peter Pan. My plan is to never grow up and need senior living.”

From Washington Post ● Feb. 7, 2020

He kept saying, “I’m Peter Pan. I’m living a Peter Pan life.”

From Washington Post ● Aug. 26, 2016

From an ancient Chinese astrological table and the P'u Pan. the necromancer's divining board.

From Time Magazine Archive

“That’s why we needed our full life, Pan. We would have gone with Will and Kirjava, wouldn’t we?”

From "The Amber Spyglass" by Philip Pullman

“Don’t know. I haven’t seen Pan. I got the feeling he’s not far away, but I don’t know. D’you remember what happened?”

From "The Amber Spyglass" by Philip Pullman

Martin’s “Fire & Blood,” has been both panned and defended perhaps more than any other major television production in recent memory.

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 10, 2026

Warsh’s communication at the July press conference, after the central bank held rates steady at its two-day policy meeting, was widely panned by investors and economists.

From MarketWatch ● Jul. 31, 2026

Disney has once again taken one of its biggest animated hits of recent years and turned it into a live-action remake - but the new take on 2016's Moana has been panned by most critics.

From BBC ● Jul. 10, 2026

What the Celtics got back was the oft-injured 36-year-old Paul George and a pair of first-round picks: a trade widely panned as one of the most disastrous in recent NBA memory.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 3, 2026

But no matter how it panned out, I knew I’d at least done something good for myself in speaking up about my needs.

From "Becoming" by Michelle Obama

While he was searching for a missing goat he encountered a group of women panning along a riverbed.

From BBC ● Aug. 22, 2026

Key to how Morgan Stanley sees things panning out is the non-consensus view of the investment bank’s economists who believe the Fed will stay on hold in 2026.

From MarketWatch ● Jul. 21, 2026

But the situation remains volatile and the Europeans want clarity on how a fragile US deal with Iran is panning out before sending in their navies.

From Barron's ● Jul. 7, 2026

Motor sport and trade publications are panning the rule.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 13, 2026

When I was panning the crowd, I searched for his face.

From "Love, Hate & Other Filters" by Samira Ahmed

Related Words

• bucket
• frying pan
• kettle
• pot
• saucepan
• sheet
• skillet