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.
She was one of many Black parents whose demands for their children’s freedom helped define the scope of the 13th Amendment’s ban on slavery after the Civil War.
From Slate ● Jul. 27, 2026
But last month the scope of those age ratings expanded to cover elements of the online experience including in-game purchases and mechanisms designed to encourage repeat play.
From BBC ● Jul. 24, 2026
The unit, which is on track to exceed $1 billion in annualized revenue run rate by the end of the year, is also widening its scope, adding offerings such as engineering and design.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 24, 2026
“It enabled us to expand the scope in ways that wouldn’t have been feasible before,” Sarandos said.
From Salon ● Jul. 23, 2026
She places the scope to my eye, and points it in the direction of the waterfall and the jungle at its edge, on the distant side of the field.
From "The Last Cuentista" by Donna Barba Higuera
The employees worked at faster paces, took on broader scopes of tasks and ended up working more hours.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Mar. 11, 2026
He scopes out how players look in the batting cages, stepping in with a quick pep talk or look of reassurance when needed.
From Los Angeles Times ● May 29, 2024
Sewer scopes allow plumbers to get a clear visual all the way down in the pipes.
From Seattle Times ● Jan. 22, 2024
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
“Well, I ain’t babysitting you all night, so you better do something,” Kenya says, and scopes the room.
From "The Hate U Give" by Angie Thomas
Those goals, he argued, were "scoped and reasonable objectives that can be attained."
From Barron's ● Mar. 3, 2026
More than a decade ago, Honnold scoped out Taipei 101 for a National Geographic special, but the project never materialized.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jan. 23, 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
McPeek also had the horse scoped, where a tube is inserted in the horse’s nostril and then pushed down to see if there are any respiratory issues, and that apparently came back good.
From Los Angeles Times ● May 11, 2024
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
Seeing that Boeing employees were scoping him out gave Conrad confidence that he was in the running.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 18, 2026
The bicycles caught the eye of project director Giovanna Araujo as she was scoping out the basement for sites to bore holes for geotechnical testing.
From Los Angeles Times ● May 1, 2026
Ardern and her husband were seen scoping out properties for sale in Sydney's beachside northern suburbs of Freshwater and Curl Curl, property website realestate.com.au said.
From Barron's ● Feb. 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
Garrett’s finally out of earshot, scoping out the dessert counter.
From "Leah on the Offbeat" by Becky Albertalli
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.
