scan

Definition

  • verb: to look at (something) carefully usually in order to find someone or something
  • verb: to read or mark so as to show metrical structure
  • usually singular
  • synonyms: alliterate, analysis, analyze

Examples

  • The bar code won't 'scan'. [=the machine is unable to read the bar code]

  • The program is 'scanning' [='searching'] the computer's files.

  • She 'scanned' his face for any clue to what he was thinking.

Movie quotes

  • (..) unless you do exactly what I tell you. I'm all ears. Remove the defibrillator from the pouch. -Do we know what it is yet? -We're still scanning. Attach the leads to your chest. Ventricular tachycardia. Digitalis. What do we give him? The kit has amphetamines, antihistamines... (..)
    2006 Casino Royale
  • (..) And now it is %. #Only by the computer. It will be a good companion, then. But we conclude that ... #soon will not need a questionnaire. The NSA will scan your digital ghost and ... they will tell you who your partner, based on everything ever said, wrote or you clicked. You put it in again? (..)
    2014 Boyhood
  • (..) cut the funding to my research. How long was your training? - Six months. Including holidays? - Mm-hm. So, what is this scanning system? - Oh, nothing Matt. It's just a new set of eyes to scan the edge of the universe. It's designed for hospital use, but this one's a prototype. (..)
    2013 Gravity