26984 words

scan

16 definitions ā€¢ 22 examples
1
to look at something carefully, with the eyes or with a machine, in order to get information:

Examples:

She anxiously scanned the faces of the men leaving the train.
Doug scanned the horizon for any sign of the boat.
2
to look through a text quickly in order to find a piece of information that you want or to get a general idea of what the text contains:

Examples:

I scanned through the booklet but couldn't find the address.
Scan the newspaper article quickly and make a note of the main points.
3
to use a machine to put a picture of a document into a computer, or to take a picture of the inside of something:

Examples:

I'll just scan the article into the computer.
Volunteers' brains were scanned while they looked at the pictures.
All hand luggage has to be scanned.
4
If a poem or part of a poem scans, it follows a pattern of regular beats:

Examples:

This line doesn't scan - it has too many syllables.
5
a careful or quick look through something:

Examples:

I gave the book a quick scan, and decided not to buy it.
6
a medical examination in which an image of the inside of the body is made using a special machine:

Examples:

to do a brain scan
to have an ultrasound scan
7
to examine something carefully:

Examples:

[ I ] This technique is used to scan for defective genes.
8
If an image or text on paper is scanned into a computer, it is changed into electronic information by a special device:

Examples:

[ T ] A little hand-held device beeps as soon as it has scanned a bar code.
9
If you scan a text you read it quickly:

Examples:

[ T ] I scanned a few pages of the book and thought it looked interesting.
10
the act of looking at or through something carefully or quickly:

Examples:

A quick scan of my calendar shows that Iā€™m pretty busy this week.
a security scan of passengersā€™ bags
11
A scan is an examination of the inside of something, such as part of the body or a package, using a computerized device to produce an image of what cannot be seen with the eyes:

Examples:

a medical scan of the head
12
to use a piece of electronic equipment to get information from something such as a bank card or a product's barcode:

Examples:

The barcode is scanned to get the price of the product.
13
to use a machine to make a copy of a document or picture and put it into a computer:

Examples:

He scanned the document and emailed it to the head office.
14
to look through a text quickly in order to find a piece of information that you want or to get a general idea of what it is about:

Examples:

I scanned the article looking for details, but didn't find anything.
15
a picture of a document that has been put into a computer:

Examples:

The machine received a good score for its color scans.
16
a quick look through something, especially in order to check that it is good enough:

Examples:

Can you give this letter a quick scan?

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