scan

scan [skan]

vt.

scanned, scanning [ME scannen < L scandere, to climb, mount (in LL, to scan): see DESCEND]

1. to analyze (verse) in terms of its rhythmic components, as by counting accents and syllables and marking the metrical feet

2. to look at closely or in a broad, searching way; scrutinize

☆ 3. to glance at quickly; consider hastily

4. to examine, identify, or interpret (printed characters, video images, bar codes, etc.): said of an electronic device

5. Comput. to examine (items in a file) in sequence in order to find those that meet a particular criterion

6. Med. to examine the structure or condition of an internal body organ with ultrasound, tomography, etc.

7. Electronics to traverse (a region) with a succession of transmitted radar beams, usually radiated in a systematic pattern

8. TV to traverse (a surface) rapidly and point by point with a beam of light or electrons in transmitting or reproducing the lights and shades of an image

vi.

1. to scan verse

2. to conform to metrical principles: said of poetry

n.

1. the act or an instance of scanning

2. scope of vision

SYN.- SCRUTINIZE