scan
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.
to analyze (verse) as to its prosodic or metrical structure; read or recite (verse) so as to indicate or test the metrical form.
to read (data) for use by a computer or computerized device, especially using an optical scanner.
Television. to traverse (a surface) with a beam of light or electrons in order to reproduce or transmit a picture.
Radar. to traverse (a region) with a beam from a radar transmitter.
Medicine/Medical, Biology. to examine (a body, organ, tissue, or other biologically active material) with a scanner.
to examine the meter of verse.
(of verse) to conform to the rules of meter.
Television. to scan a surface or the like.
an act or instance of scanning; close examination.
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.
a particular image or frame in such video observation or a photograph made from it.
Medicine/Medical, Biology.
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.
the image or display so obtained.
Origin of scan
1Other words for scan
Other words from scan
- scan·na·ble, adjective
- self-scanned, adjective
- un·scan·na·ble, adjective
- un·scanned, adjective
Words that may be confused with scan
- scam, scan
Other definitions for Scan. (2 of 2)
Scandinavia.
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
How to use scan in a sentence
It’s also entirely free to create and share your foot scan in glorious 3D point cloud — and will remain so according to Howe.
Xesto is a foot scanning app that simplifies shoe gifting | Natasha Lomas | November 20, 2020 | TechCrunchWith that scan, the Kart and Switch are connected directly via Wi-Fi, without the need for any router or live Internet connection.
Going in-depth with Nintendo’s augmented reality Mario Kart RC car | Kyle Orland | October 2, 2020 | Ars TechnicaSo you use these technologies that allow you to go through the factory and do a 3D scan.
How AI will revolutionize manufacturing | Jason Sparapani | September 29, 2020 | MIT Technology ReviewThey used laser scans of the site and archaeological evidence to mimic the real thing as closely as they could.
Stonehenge enhanced voices and music within the stone ring | Bruce Bower | September 29, 2020 | Science News For StudentsUsing micro-CT scans, Dave Horne, a micropaleontologist at Queen Mary University of London, and colleagues peered inside a few of the tiny shelled animals.
A tiny crustacean fossil contains roughly 100-million-year-old giant sperm | Curtis Segarra | September 21, 2020 | Science News
British Dictionary definitions for scan
/ (skæn) /
(tr) to scrutinize minutely
(tr) to glance over quickly
(tr) prosody to read or analyse (verse) according to the rules of metre and versification
(intr) prosody to conform to the rules of metre and versification
(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
(tr) 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
physics to examine or produce or be examined or produced by a continuous charge of some variable: to scan a spectrum
med to obtain an image of (a part of the body) by means of a scanner
the act or an instance of scanning
med
the examination of a part of the body by means of a scanner: a brain scan; ultrasound scan
the image produced by a scanner
Origin of scan
1Derived forms of scan
- scannable, adjective
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012
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