Definition of "scan" in English

verb

1. (transitive) To examine sequentially, carefully, or critically; to scrutinize; to behold closely.

   • She scanned the passage carefully but could not find what she was looking for.
   • He scanned the horizon.
   • Yet the incident did not in the least diminish my respect for my teacher. I was by nature blind to the faults of elders. Later I came to know of many other failings of this teacher, but my regard for him remained the same. For I had learnt to carry out the orders of elders, not to scan their actions.

2. (transitive) To look about for; to look over quickly.

3. (computing, medicine, transitive) To create an image of something with the use of a scanner.

   • to scan a photograph
   • to scan internal organs by means of computed tomography
   • Pencil drawings don't scan very well.

4. (computing, transitive) To read with an electronic device.

   • to scan a barcode
   • to scan a QR code

5. (obsolete, transitive, originally) To mount by steps; to go through with step by step.

6. (poetry, transitive) To read or mark so as to show a specific metre.

7. (poetry, intransitive) To conform to a metrical structure.

noun

1. A close investigation.

2. (computing) An instance of scanning.

   • The operators vacated the room during the scan.

3. (computing) The result or output of a scanning process.

   • The doctors looked at the scans and made a diagnosis.

4. (functional programming) A higher-order function that applies a binary operation to a sequence of values, starting with an accumulator, and returns a new sequence with the results.