scope

¹ American  

[skohp] / skoʊp /

noun

1. extent or range of view, outlook, application, operation, effectiveness, etc..

   an investigation of wide scope.

2. space for movement or activity; opportunity for operation.

   to give one's fancy full scope.

   Synonyms:

   liberty, room, sweep, reach, range, extent, breadth, ambit

3. extent in space; a tract or area.

4. length.

   a scope of cable.

5. aim or purpose.

6. Linguistics, Logic. the range of words or elements of an expression over which a modifier or operator has control.

   In “old men and women,” “old” may either take “men and women” or just “men” in its scope.

7. (used as a short form of microscope, oscilloscope, periscope, radarscope, riflescope, telescopic sight, etc.)

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verb (used with object)

scoped, scoping

1. Slang. to look at, read, or investigate, as in order to evaluate or appreciate.

verb phrase

1. scope out

   1. to look at or over; examine; check out.

      a rock musician scoping out the audience before going on stage.

   2. to master; figure out.

      By the time we'd scoped out the problem, it was too late.

-scope ² American  

1. a combining form meaning “instrument for viewing,” used in the formation of compound words.

   telescope.

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scope ¹ British  

/ skəʊp /

noun

1. opportunity for exercising the faculties or abilities; capacity for action

   plenty of scope for improvement

2. range of view, perception, or grasp; outlook

3. the area covered by an activity, topic, etc; range

   the scope of his thesis was vast

4. nautical slack left in an anchor cable

5. logic linguistics that part of an expression that is governed by a given operator: the scope of the negation in PV– ( q ∧ r ) is –( q ∧ r )

6. informal short for telescope microscope oscilloscope

7. archaic purpose or aim

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verb

1. informal to look at or examine carefully

-scope ² British  

combining form

1. indicating an instrument for observing, viewing, or detecting

   microscope

   stethoscope

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Related Words

See range.

Other Word Forms

• -scopic combining form
• scopeless adjective

Etymology

Origin of scope¹

First recorded in 1525–35; from Italian scopo, from Greek skopós “aim, mark to shoot at”; akin to skopeîn “to look at” ( see -scope)

Origin of -scope²

< New Latin -scopium < Greek -skopion, -skopeion, equivalent to skop ( eîn ) to look at (akin to sképtesthai to look, view carefully; cf. skeptic) + -ion, -eion noun suffix

Explanation

Business people like to use the word scope because it specifies the extent of their responsibilities. Once you know the scope of a project, you can decide if you're qualified and how much time it will take to do it. If your boss gives you a new task and you don't want to do it, tell him or her it's not within the scope of your duties. A scope is also a device used to see something in the distance. You'll find one on shotguns, submarines, radars and the like. You can use scope as a verb meaning "to look out or around." When you and your friends go out, you probably scope out a few places to see where the action is.

Example Sentences

The longer the conflict continues the less scope they have to "hedge" their prices in this way.

From BBC • Apr. 22, 2026

The Federal Reserve prefers the PCE index for inflation, citing its broader scope, inclusion of rural households, and monthly weighting updates.

From Barron's • Apr. 22, 2026

Although progress has been made, the company’s leadership decided that “the scope of required changes is greater than originally anticipated and must be fully implemented before new sales resume,” it said.

From Barron's • Apr. 21, 2026

Orders are up 23% in reported terms and 27% organically, a closely watched rate that shows performance at constant scope and exchange rates.

From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 21, 2026

Pushing the not next to the phrase it negates eliminates the scope ambiguity.

From "The Sense of Style" by Steven Pinker

Related Words

• breadth
• capacity
• extension
• opportunity
• outlook
• purview
• sphere