Scan Meaning
/skæn/Definition, CEFR level B1, pronunciation, examples, and quiz.
Listen pronunciation
Definition
verbTo examine sequentially, carefully, or critically; to scrutinize; to behold closely.
verbTo examine sequentially, carefully, or critically; to scrutinize; to behold closely., To inspect, analyse or go over, often to find something.
Sentence Examples
Please scan the diary for clues.
My laser printer can also scan an image.
CEFR Practice Quiz
At the airport, officers ____ each passenger's passport with a special device.
CEFR Practice Quiz (Alternate)
The doctor ordered a brain ____ to rule out any structural abnormalities.
Word Origin & History
From late Middle English scanne (“to mark off verse to show metrical structure”), from earlier scanden, from Late Latin scandere (“to scan verse”), from Classical Latin scandō (“to climb, rise, mount”), from Proto-Indo-European *skend- (“to jump, dart, climb, scale, scan”).
Literary Quotations & Historical Citations
"Slowly, he scanned the horizon, listening, watching for the signs he had been taught."
— 1965 October 1, Frank Herbert, “Book III: The Prophet”, in Dune, Philadelphia, Pa.: Chilton Book Company; [Toronto], Ont.: Thomas Nelson & Sons, →OCLC, page 385:
"As the 1857 to Manchester Piccadilly rolls in, I scan the windows and realise there are plenty of spare seats, so I hop aboard. The train is a '221'+'220' combo to allow for social distancing - a luxury on an XC train as normally you're playing sardines, so I make the most of it."
— 2020 December 2, Paul Bigland, “My weirdest and wackiest Rover yet”, in Rail, page 68:
"In the dispute with the RMT about scanning tickets, Jackson said it was the right thing to do to pay conductors something to scan tickets. Northern pays two pence per scan, Jackson noted, adding that ticket scanning helps to cut fraud and increase staff visibility."
— 2024 February 7, Philip Haigh, “Network News: TPE MD: consider impact of strikes on passengers”, in RAIL, number 1002, page 11:
"But ere these matchless heights I dare to scan, / There is a spot should not be pass'd in vain,— / Morat ! the proud, the patriot field ! where man / May gaze on ghastly trophies of the slain,[…]"
— 1816, Lord Byron, “Canto III”, in Childe Harold’s Pilgrimage. Canto the Third, London: […] [F]or John Murray, […], →OCLC, stanza LXIII, page 36:
"In such cases as these, almost any one with a good ear will "scan" the verse correctly enough without instruction. It is not proposed to give here a list of Shakspere's slurred and contracted words; […]"
— 1886, Francis Barton Gummere, A Handbook of Poetics for Students of English Verse, page 218:
Explore More B1 Vocabulary Words
CEFR Practice Quiz
At the airport, officers ____ each passenger's passport with a special device.
CEFR Practice Quiz (Alternate)
The doctor ordered a brain ____ to rule out any structural abnormalities.