scan
scan Lexical Profile
scan Game Scores & Validity
• noun
A medical examination or diagnostic image obtained by passing an ultrasonic, magnetic, or radiographic beam over a part of the body.
"The doctor ordered an ultrasound scan to check the health of the developing fetus."
An act of looking quickly or systematically through a space, text, or set of data in order to find relevant information.
"A quick scan of the morning newspaper revealed no mention of the local election."
A digital image or file created by optically reading a physical document or photograph with an electronic scanner.
"Please email me a high-resolution scan of your signed contract by tomorrow afternoon."
• verb
To look quickly and systematically over all parts of a place, group, or text in order to find someone or something.
"She scanned the crowded departure lounge for a familiar face."
To convert a physical document, photograph, or barcode into a digital format using an optical or electronic device.
"The cashier scanned the items quickly and placed them into the paper bag."
To traverse a body part or region with an electromagnetic, ultrasonic, or radar beam in order to obtain a diagnostic image or detect objects.
"Hospital technicians scanned the patient's brain to check for signs of internal bleeding."
To analyze the meter of a line of verse by marking its metrical feet and rhythmic patterns, or to conform to metrical rules (of poetry).
"In our literature seminar, we learned how to scan Shakespearean sonnets in iambic pentameter."
Word Nuance & Usage
"Scan" is a contronym (auto-antonym) regarding reading or looking: it can mean both to examine closely and systematically in detail, or conversely, to glance over quickly and superficially in search of specific information.
• Rhymes for scan
• Nearby Words
Word Origin & Etymology
From Late Middle English scannen (originally meaning to analyze poetic meter), borrowed from Late Latin scandere ("to scan verse"), from Classical Latin scandere ("to climb, mount"), in reference to the rising and falling rhythm of verse.