SCAN (scanned, scanning)

Pronunciation (US):

(GB):

IPA (US):

Irregular inflected forms: scanned    , scanning   

 Dictionary entry overview: What does scan mean? 

• SCAN (noun)
  The noun SCAN has 2 senses:

1. the act of scanning; systematic examination of a prescribed region

2. an image produced by scanning

  Familiarity information: SCAN used as a noun is rare.

• SCAN (verb)
  The verb SCAN has 7 senses:

1. examine minutely or intensely

2. examine hastily

3. make a wide, sweeping search of

4. conform to a metrical pattern

5. move a light beam over; in electronics, to reproduce an image

6. read metrically

7. obtain data from magnetic tapes or other digital sources

  Familiarity information: SCAN used as a verb is common.

 Dictionary entry details 

• SCAN (noun)

Sense 1

Meaning:

The act of scanning; systematic examination of a prescribed region

Classified under:

Nouns denoting acts or actions

Context example:

he made a thorough scan of the beach with his binoculars

Hypernyms ("scan" is a kind of...):

examination; scrutiny (the act of examining something closely (as for mistakes))

Derivation:

scan (make a wide, sweeping search of)

scan (examine minutely or intensely)

Sense 2

Meaning:

An image produced by scanning

Classified under:

Nouns denoting man-made objects

Synonyms:

CAT scan; scan

Context example:

you could see the tumor in the CAT scan

Hypernyms ("scan" is a kind of...):

icon; ikon; image; picture (a visual representation (of an object or scene or person or abstraction) produced on a surface)

Derivation:

scan (examine minutely or intensely)

• SCAN (verb)

Present simple: I / you / we / they scan    ... he / she / it scans   
Past simple: scanned   
Past participle: scanned   
-ing form: scanning   

Sense 1

Meaning:

Examine minutely or intensely

Classified under:

Verbs of seeing, hearing, feeling

Context example:

the surgeon scanned the X-ray

Hypernyms (to "scan" is one way to...):

examine; see (observe, check out, and look over carefully or inspect)

Troponyms (each of the following is one way to "scan"):

glass (scan (game in the forest) with binoculars)

Sentence frames:

Somebody ----s something
Somebody ----s somebody

Sentence example:

The customs agents scan the bags for drugs

Derivation:

scan (the act of scanning; systematic examination of a prescribed region)

scan (an image produced by scanning)

Sense 2

Meaning:

Examine hastily

Classified under:

Verbs of seeing, hearing, feeling

Synonyms:

glance over; rake; run down; scan; skim

Context example:

She scanned the newspaper headlines while waiting for the taxi

Hypernyms (to "scan" is one way to...):

examine; see (observe, check out, and look over carefully or inspect)

Sentence frames:

Somebody ----s something
Somebody ----s somebody

Sense 3

Meaning:

Make a wide, sweeping search of

Classified under:

Verbs of touching, hitting, tying, digging

Context example:

The beams scanned the night sky

Hypernyms (to "scan" is one way to...):

search (subject to a search)

Sentence frames:

Somebody ----s something
Something ----s something

Derivation:

scan (the act of scanning; systematic examination of a prescribed region)

scanner (a radio receiver that moves automatically across some selected range of frequencies looking for some signal or condition)

scanner (a radar dish that rotates or oscillates in order to scan a broad area)

Sense 4

Meaning:

Conform to a metrical pattern

Classified under:

Verbs of being, having, spatial relations

Hypernyms (to "scan" is one way to...):

conform (be similar, be in line with)

Domain category:

poesy; poetry; verse (literature in metrical form)

Sentence frame:

Something ----s

Sense 5

Meaning:

Move a light beam over; in electronics, to reproduce an image

Classified under:

Verbs of walking, flying, swimming

Hypernyms (to "scan" is one way to...):

displace; move (cause to move or shift into a new position or place, both in a concrete and in an abstract sense)

Sentence frame:

Somebody ----s something

Derivation:

scanner (an electronic device that generates a digital representation of an image for data input to a computer)

scanning (the process of translating photographs into a digital form that can be recognized by a computer)

Sense 6

Meaning:

Read metrically

Classified under:

Verbs of telling, asking, ordering, singing

Context example:

scan verses

Hypernyms (to "scan" is one way to...):

declaim; recite (recite in elocution)

Sentence frame:

Somebody ----s something

Derivation:

scanner (someone who scans verse to determine the number and prosodic value of the syllables)

scansion (analysis of verse into metrical patterns)

Sense 7

Meaning:

Obtain data from magnetic tapes or other digital sources

Classified under:

Verbs of thinking, judging, analyzing, doubting

Synonyms:

read; scan

Context example:

This dictionary can be read by the computer

Hypernyms (to "scan" is one way to...):

construe; interpret; see (make sense of; assign a meaning to)

Troponyms (each of the following is one way to "scan"):

misread (read or interpret wrongly)

Sentence frames:

Somebody ----s something
Something ----s something

 Context examples 

A bone scan may be used to diagnose bone tumors or cancer that has spread to the bone.

(Bone scan, NCI Dictionary)

Also called carbon-11 choline PET-CT scan.

(C-11 choline PET-CT scan, NCI Dictionary)

Also called iobenguane scan and MIBG scan.

(Metaiodobenzylguanidine scan, NCI Dictionary)

Also called iobenguane scan and metaiodobenzylguanidine scan.

(MIBG scan, NCI Dictionary)

A scanning procedure used to measure calcium and other minerals present in bone.

(Bone Mineral Density Test, NCI Thesaurus)

Your doctor might do a variety of tests to make the diagnosis, including a chest x-ray, CT scan of the lungs, and an examination of tissues for signs of the fungus.

(Aspergillosis, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention)

Participants were followed for 5 years with clinical assessments and MRI scans to monitor brain lesions and brain volume.

(Vitamin D Levels Predict Multiple Sclerosis Progression, NIH)

Ear exams, hearing tests, and scans can show if you have it.

(Acoustic Neuroma, NIH: National Institute of Deafness and Communication Disorders)

Ultrasound or a CT scan is used to guide the needle into the tumor.

(Alcohol ablation, NCI Dictionary)

This type of testing is distinct from complete gene sequencing or mutation scanning.

(Mutation Analysis, NCI Dictionary)