extent or range of view, outlook, application, operation, effectiveness, etc..
an investigation of wide scope.
space for movement or activity; opportunity for operation.
to give one's fancy full scope.
extent in space; a tract or area.
length.
a scope of cable.
aim or purpose.
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.
(used as a short form of microscope, oscilloscope, periscope, radarscope, riflescope, telescopic sight, etc.)
opportunity for exercising the faculties or abilities; capacity for action
plenty of scope for improvement
range of view, perception, or grasp; outlook
the area covered by an activity, topic, etc; range
the scope of his thesis was vast
nautical slack left in an anchor cable
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 )
informal short for telescope microscope oscilloscope
archaic purpose or aim
See range.
First recorded in 1525–35; from Italian scopo, from Greek skopós “aim, mark to shoot at”; akin to skopeîn “to look at” ( see -scope)
< 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
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.
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Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
"Actors drive all the performances, and we use these tools to amplify the sets and the scope of the shows," he said.
From Barron's ● Jul. 22, 2026
However, she added: "Overall, there's no escaping the fact that the public finances are fragile and that there is limited scope for extra borrowing."
From BBC ● Jul. 21, 2026
Since then, El Malilla has expanded the scope of reggaeton Mexa following collaborations with Puerto Rican pioneers such as Jowell y Randy and Colombian superstar J Balvin.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 20, 2026
But state and federal health agencies are still trying to gauge the scope of the outbreak.
From MarketWatch ● Jul. 18, 2026
I perched next to the scope and looked and sketched and looked and sketched as best I could.
From "The Evolution of Calpurnia Tate" by Jacqueline Kelly
Beretta Holding now houses more than 20 international brands, including historic British shotgun maker Holland & Holland, a Finnish sniper-rifle maker and Steiner, which produces rifle scopes in Ohio.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Feb. 16, 2026
He said those delays would put Orsted in "a situation where we would need to go out and recontract all or very large scopes of the project at expectedly higher prices."
From Reuters ● Nov. 3, 2023
Vitale, on social media Tuesday, said he will have two scopes within the next five days to determine if his 35 radiation treatments “wiped out” his vocal cord cancer.
From Washington Times ● Oct. 11, 2023
His advice for birders hoping to see the roseate spoonbill is to not look for the bird, but to look for the hoards of people carrying cameras and spotting scopes.
From Seattle Times ● Aug. 3, 2023
"You could be a famed courtier. Only having to worry about dresses and gossip and landing in the scopes and papers."
From "The Belles" by Dhonielle Clayton
Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy meanwhile scoped the industry out for a possible partner for Spirit.
From The Wall Street Journal ● May 2, 2026
Those goals, he argued, were "scoped and reasonable objectives that can be attained."
From Barron's ● Mar. 3, 2026
By then the third team, most likely, was laying low in the Coromandel Peninsula town of Thames, a spot scoped out by Christine Cabon months before.
From Slate ● Jul. 22, 2025
Giovanni Garcia pulled up to a dusty intersection in South Gate and scoped the scene.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 14, 2025
He’d scoped out a place he knew she’d love—and she did; if she could live here under one of the tables forever, she’d be perfectly content to do just that.
From "When Dimple Met Rishi" by Sandhya Menon
He is in Norway this month scoping out locations to add to his company’s itineraries.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 12, 2026
But there is a suggestion the Italy midfielder is open to leaving St James' Park this summer, with his representatives understood to be scoping out the market to ascertain which clubs may be interested.
From BBC ● Mar. 19, 2026
The Treasury appeared to be scoping out the possibility of buying yen, which would raise the value of the Japanese currency against the U.S. dollar.
From Barron's ● Jan. 26, 2026
Published under the title "Microplastics and Global Warming: A Hidden Climate Threat Uncovered in a New Perspective," the study provides a scoping review of existing research.
From Science Daily ● Jan. 17, 2026
But long before the Wall went up, the CIA was already scoping out new battlefields in the secret war with the KGB.
From "Spies: The Secret Showdown Between America and Russia" by Marc Favreau
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
