scan (sk?n)v. scanned, scan·ning, scans v.tr.1. a. To look at carefully or thoroughly, especially in search of something; examine: The sailor scanned the horizon for signs of land.b. To look over quickly or read hastily: I scanned the newspaper while eating breakfast.2. Computers To search (stored data) automatically for specific data.3. a. To direct a finely focused beam of light or electrons in a systematic pattern over (a surface) in order to reproduce or sense and subsequently transmit an image.b. To direct a radar beam in a systematic pattern across (a sector of sky) in search of a target.4. To encode (text, for example) in digital format by means of an optical scanner.5. a. Medicine To direct x-rays or other energy at (a body or body part) in order to produce an image, as with a CT scanner.b. To pass (luggage, for example) through a detector at a security checkpoint in order to detect weapons or banned materials.6. To analyze (verse) into metrical patterns.v.intr.1. To analyze verse into metrical patterns.2. To conform to a metrical pattern: Does this line scan?n.1. The act or an instance of scanning: my scan of the files.2. Medicine a. The action or process of scanning a body or body part.b. An image produced by scanning.[Middle English scanden, scannen, to scan a verse, from Latin scandere, to climb, scan a verse; see skand- in Indo-European roots.]scan?na·ble adj.American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright © 2016 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.scan (skæn) vb, scans, scanning or scanned1. (tr) to scrutinize minutely2. (tr) to glance over quickly3. (Poetry) (tr) prosody to read or analyse (verse) according to the rules of metre and versification4. (Poetry) (intr) prosody to conform to the rules of metre and versification5. (Electronics) (tr) electronics to move a beam of light, electrons, etc, in a predetermined pattern over (a surface or region) to obtain information, esp either to sense and transmit or to reproduce a television image6. (Computer Science) (tr) to examine data stored on (magnetic tape, etc), usually in order to retrieve information7. (Telecommunications) to examine or search (a prescribed region) by systematically varying the direction of a radar or sonar beam8. (General Physics) physics to examine or produce or be examined or produced by a continuous charge of some variable: to scan a spectrum. 9. (Medicine) med to obtain an image of (a part of the body) by means of a scannern10. the act or an instance of scanning11. (Medicine) med a. the examination of a part of the body by means of a scanner: a brain scan; ultrasound scan. b. the image produced by a scanner[C14: from Late Latin scandere to scan (verse), from Latin: to climb] ?scannable adjCollins English Dictionary ? Complete and Unabridged, 12th Edition 2014 © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1994, 1998, 2000, 2003, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2011, 2014scan (skæn) v. scanned, scan?ning, n. v.t. 1. to examine the particulars of minutely; scrutinize. 2. to glance at or read hastily: to scan a page. 3. to observe repeatedly or sweepingly: to scan the horizon. 4. to analyze (verse) for its prosodic or metrical structure. 5. to read (data) for use by a computer or computerized device, esp. using an optical scanner. 6. to traverse (a surface) with a beam of electrons in order to reproduce or transmit a picture. 7. to traverse (a region) with a beam from a radar transmitter. 8. to examine (a body or body part) with a scanner. v.i. 9. to examine the meter of verse. 10. (of verse) to conform to the rules of meter. n. 11. an act or instance of scanning. 12. a. an examination of the body or a body part using a scanner. b. the image or display so obtained. [1350?1400;