From Longman Dictionary of Contemporary Englishscanscan1 /skæn/ ●●○ verb (scanned, scanning) 1 look at [transitive]EXAMINE to examine an area carefully but quickly, often because you are looking for a particular person or thing He scanned the horizon, but there was no sign of the ship. She scanned his face, looking for signs of what he was thinking. Video cameras scanned the car park.scan something for something I scanned the street for people I knew.2 readREAD [intransitive, transitive] (also scan through) to read something quickly SYN skimscan something for something I scanned the page for her name. She scanned through the paper.3 see inside [transitive]TEE if a machine scans something, it passes an electrical beam over it to form a picture of what is inside it → scanner All luggage has to be scanned at the airport. They scanned his brain for signs of damage.4 computer [transitive] if you scan a document or picture, you put it into a machine attached to a computer so that the information in the document can be taken into the computer and stored there → scannerscan something into something You scan the text into the computer, then edit it.5 poetry [intransitive] technical poetry that scans has a correct regular pattern of beats→ See Verb table
Examples from the Corpus
scan• He got to his feet, did a 365-degree scan, and moved on.• Thrilled, Barlow scanned computer data on 42,283 Martian craters photographed by the Viking Orbiter since the mid-1970s.• Dr. Schlaug scanned the brains of several musicians as part of his research.• On occasion he found himself scanning the lake, throttling down as he passed bleak islands of rock and pine.• Robert scanned the lists for his name.• She scanned the menu outside the restaurant, but decided it looked too expensive.• Surveillance cameras constantly scan the sidewalks.• Stern started every day by scanning the want ads.• Sitting back, humming under his breath, he scanned the waters for anything that might present itself.• Executives in high-performing firms tailored scanning to perceived strategic uncertainty in all sectors.• From such a vantage point you can scan up to a mile along many beaches and spot objects cast up by the tides.scan something for something• I scanned the beach for familiar faces.scanscan2 ●●○ noun 1 MH[countable] a medical test in which a special machine produces a picture of something inside your body The scan showed that she was expecting twins. a brain scan2 [singular]LOOK FOR when you read something quicklyscan of a quick scan of the newspapersExamples from the Corpus
scan• A bone scan showed a small fracture in Conway's right ankle.• A bone scan on Monday revealed a compression fracture in vertebrae in the middle of his back.• We took him to hospital and he had various tests and a brain scan.• The brain scan, the chest scan, the throat and bone scans all said the cancer had gone.• Bring the localiser into the normal level flight and descent scan routine.• From the play of shadows, Hicks reckoned that there were two more people inside who were beyond his scan.• But workers were paid low wages, lived mostly in overcrowded bunkhouses and were subjected to daily body searches and internal scans.• It was agreed that all transmission of film material will be in a progressive scan format from launch of services.• After a quick scan of the headlines, Joan put the newspaper down.• But he hopes that scans should illuminate the precise areas of any deficits.From Longman Business Dictionaryscanscan /skæn/ verb [transitive]COMMERCE1to use a scanner (=special machine with an electronic beam) to read the information on a credit card, the bar code on a product etc2to use a scanner (=piece of computer equipment) to copy words or images from paper onto a computerThis program lets people edit photos that have been scanned into a digital form.→ See Verb tableOrigin scan1 (1300-1400) Late Latin scandere, from Latin, “to climb” 