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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

Díaz said he underwent an MRI scan on his neck and nothing unusual was revealed.

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 23, 2026

Diaz said he underwent an MRI scan on his neck and nothing unusual was revealed.

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 23, 2026

“Some are assigned to cut books, and others go to receive where they get books and scan the bar codes.”

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 22, 2026

They can make extremely fast 90° turns, helping them scan broad areas of a sample in an organized and efficient way.

From Science Daily ● Aug. 18, 2026

I use my cameras to scan the area.

From "A Rover's Story" by Jasmine Warga

In one data set, 728 participants received brain scans or biomarker testing during life.

From Science Daily ● Aug. 14, 2026

Rushing added Tuesday that something similar had appeared on previous scans, without symptoms.

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 12, 2026

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

The scans revealed a clear distinction between language and logic.

From Science Daily ● Aug. 11, 2026

My grandmother scans my outfit and the Hula-Hoop and stops me.

From "Zara’s Rules for Record-Breaking Fun" by Hena Khan

The 66-year-old scanned a QR code on the advert, using an app he had downloaded.

From BBC ● Aug. 23, 2026

While some books are scanned for various purposes without losing their spines, so-called destructive scanning is considered more efficient.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 22, 2026

It includes removing a book's spine so all the pages can be scanned rapidly - and the remains recycled.

From BBC ● Aug. 15, 2026

They scanned the brains of eight dogs while the animals viewed pictures of unfamiliar people showing either happy or neutral expressions.

From Science Daily ● Aug. 11, 2026

Cecil, the headwaiter, scanned up and down the yardsticks for somewhere to seat us.

From "Secrets at Sea" by Richard Peck

Some people have been scammed even though the QR code they are scanning is genuine.

From BBC ● Aug. 23, 2026

And after scanning his LinkedIn profile, Wong saw that he ran in similar professional circles and seemed ambitious.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 19, 2026

This type of scanning detects changes in blood flow associated with brain activity, allowing researchers to observe which areas and networks are more or less active.

From Science Daily ● Aug. 9, 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

He started walking around the tank, scanning the ground.

From "I Survived the Great Molasses Flood, 1919" by Lauren Tarshis

Related Words

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