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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 34-year-old described how, when a nurse broke the news that there was no heartbeat during a scan at six months, their "whole world stopped".

From BBC ● Oct. 12, 2026

The process, guided by the app, is relatively straightforward: fill the test with saliva by sucking on it for 60 seconds, wait 20 minutes, scan the test, get results.

From Slate ● Oct. 9, 2026

A visit includes a scan, labs and other diagnostics.

From MarketWatch ● Oct. 5, 2026

Prosecutors have said Linton was pretending to seize during the tests, noting the scan itself did not show brain activity consistent with an epileptic episode during the moments when she was physically reacting.

From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 1, 2026

At writing class, Erica gives us time to scan through all the entries in our writing notebooks, looking for two or three that have what she calls a “heartbeat.”

From "Keeping Pace" by Laurie Morrison

"They'll have further scans to see where they are and we'll have that time frame for how long they are going to be out for."

From BBC ● Oct. 12, 2026

The original trial relied on sophisticated motion capture equipment, pressure-sensitive treadmill measurements, MRI scans, and repeated in-person visits.

From Science Daily ● Oct. 11, 2026

Full-body scans have also faced criticism from some healthcare professionals, who warn that the technology risks false positives, overdiagnoses, and unnecessary testing and anxiety.

From Slate ● Oct. 8, 2026

Some have critiqued the low rate of serious findings from full-body scans, and Neko’s own research found that only about 1% of asymptomatic users in Sweden found anything life-threatening.

From MarketWatch ● Oct. 5, 2026

Then she opens her eye and scans my domain.

From "The One and Only Ivan" by Katherine Applegate

Reporters from The Assembly and ProPublica scanned a state of North Carolina website that details how to file a notice of intent to open a private school.

From Salon ● Oct. 4, 2026

The agents scanned a publicly available online data hub belonging to U.N.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 27, 2026

“It was systematic. They entered the depots and stole everything they could,” said Umaima Abdul-Rahman Al-Sanusi, one of the museum’s curators, as her eyes scanned a shattered display case.

From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 8, 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

I opened the pamphlet and scanned the words.

From "Sir Fig Newton and the Science of Persistence" by Sonja Thomas

I wouldn’t have had that interaction if I’d been scanning my own groceries.

From Salon ● Oct. 11, 2026

Varun Shetty, OpenAI’s vice president of media partnerships, testified in the lawsuit that he wasn’t aware of OpenAI’s purchasing books at scale and scanning them for training purposes, according to the filing.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 19, 2026

The team used single-cell sequencing, advanced image analysis and high-resolution 3D X-ray scanning to build a detailed map of human finger joints as they developed.

From Science Daily ● Sep. 5, 2026

The map was made by cutting the fly brain into 66 pieces, each of which was imaged by repeated rounds of scanning.

From BBC ● Sep. 3, 2026

He seemed to go into a trance, scanning the land with endless patience, and often finding some tiny sign that most full-grown hunters would have missed.

From "Wolf Brother" by Michelle Paver

Related Words

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