Library / English Dictionary

SCAN

Pronunciation (US):

(GB):

Irregular inflected forms: scanned    , scanning   

 I. (noun) 

Sense 1

Meaning:

The act of scanning; systematic examination of a prescribed region

Example:

he made a thorough scan of the beach with his binoculars

Classified under:

Nouns denoting acts or actions

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

Example:

you could see the tumor in the CAT scan

Synonyms:

CAT scan; scan

Classified under:

Nouns denoting man-made objects

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)

 II. (verb) 

Sense 1

Meaning:

Obtain data from magnetic tapes or other digital sources

Example:

This dictionary can be read by the computer

Synonyms:

read; scan

Classified under:

Verbs of thinking, judging, analyzing, doubting

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

Sense 2

Meaning:

Read metrically

Example:

scan verses

Classified under:

Verbs of telling, asking, ordering, singing

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 3

Meaning:

Make a wide, sweeping search of

Example:

The beams scanned the night sky

Classified under:

Verbs of touching, hitting, tying, digging

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:

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 5

Meaning:

Examine hastily

Example:

She scanned the newspaper headlines while waiting for the taxi

Synonyms:

glance over; rake; run down; scan; skim

Classified under:

Verbs of seeing, hearing, feeling

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 6

Meaning:

Examine minutely or intensely

Example:

the surgeon scanned the X-ray

Classified under:

Verbs of seeing, hearing, feeling

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 7

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

Credits

 Context examples: 

In the trial, low-dose spiral CT scans were compared with chest x-rays for their ability to detect lung cancer early.

(National Lung Screening Trial, NCI Dictionary)

A CT number underestimation artifact resulting from the presence of a dense object off center in a scan field.

(Partial Volume Artifact, NCI Thesaurus)

The PET and CT scans are done at the same time with the same machine.

(PET-CT scan, NCI Dictionary)

A type of radionuclide scan used to find carcinoid and other types of tumors.

(Octreotide scan, NCI Dictionary)

Also called: Radionuclide Scans, Radioisotope scans, Radionuclide scans

(Nuclear Scans, NIH)

The results showed that 31% of all study participants had evidence of microbleeds on their brain scans.

(Microbleeds may worsen outcome after head injury, National Institutes of Health)

Also called BMD scan, DEXA, DEXA scan, dual energy x-ray absorptiometric scan, dual x-ray absorptiometry, and DXA.

(Bone mineral density scan, NCI Dictionary)

Scientists took brain scans of children aged between three and five, and compared the results with screen use.

(Too Much Screen Time Changes Structure of Toddlers' Brains, The Titi Tudorancea Bulletin)

Doctors diagnose brain tumors by doing a neurologic exam and tests including an MRI, CT scan, and biopsy.

(Brain Cancer, NIH: National Cancer Institute)

Using an advanced genetic test, researchers were able to detect diffuse large B-cell lymphoma (DLBCL) in blood serum before it could be seen on CT scans.

(Tumor DNA in Blood Reveals Lymphoma Progression, NIH)