survey(LOOK AT)formal
C1[ I+ adv/prep, T ]
to look through a text quickly in order to find a piece of information that you want or to get a general idea of what the text contains: 粗略地看;快读，浏览
I scanned through the booklet but couldn't find the address.我很快地翻阅了一遍小册子，但没有找到那个地址。
Scan the newspaper article quickly and make a note of the main points.把报上的那篇文章快速浏览一遍，记下要点。

SMART Vocabulary: related words and phrases

Using the eyes
accommodate
accommodation
all eyes are on someone/somethingidiom
astigmatic
beholder
cast
corner
discern
fix
glare
have a butcher'sidiom
penetrating
re-see
re-sight
rest on someone/something
resurvey
rubbernecking
sighting
spot
tab

You can also find related words, phrases, and synonyms in the topics:

Reading

scanverb (MAKE PICTURE)

C1[ I or T ]
to use a machine to put a picture of a document into a computer, or to take a picture of the inside of something: 扫描（使用机器，将某一文件的图片放到计算机中，或截取某物内部的图片）
I'll just scan the article into the computer.我只能把这个文件扫描到计算机中。
Volunteers' brains were scanned while they looked at the pictures.当自愿者观察这个图片时，他们的大脑被扫描。
All hand luggage has to be scanned.所有手提行礼都必须经过扫描。

SMART Vocabulary: related words and phrases

Computer concepts
2FA
2SV
3-D printing
adaptive learning
additive manufacturing
haptics
HCI
hex
hexadecimal
hill climbing
infection
stack
tebibyte
telematic
telematics
telerobotics
teraflop
texture
wan
word processing

You can also find related words, phrases, and synonyms in the topics:

Copying and copies

scanverb (POEM)

[ I ] literature specialized
If a poem or part of a poem scans, it follows a pattern of regular beats: （诗）符合韵律节拍
This line doesn't scan - it has too many syllables.这行诗不合节拍——音节太多了。

SMART Vocabulary: related words and phrases

Literature
accentual
action hero
alliterative
alternative history
anapest
femslash
fiction
fictionality
fictionally
fictive
naturalistic
non-canonical
non-character
non-literary
non-metrical
swashbuckler
sympathetically
tanka
tartan noir
theatrics
scan
noun
uk /skæn/ us /skæn/
[ S ]
a careful or quick look through something: 粗略一看;浏览
I gave the book a quick scan, and decided not to buy it.我粗粗地浏览了一下那本书，决定不买了。
C2[ C ]
a medical examination in which an image of the inside of the body is made using a special machine: （身体的）扫描检查
to do a brain scan接受脑部扫描
to have an ultrasound scan接受超声波扫描

SMART Vocabulary: related words and phrases

Using the eyes
accommodate
accommodation
all eyes are on someone/somethingidiom
astigmatic
beholder
cast
corner
discern
fix
glare
have a butcher'sidiom
penetrating
re-see
re-sight
rest on someone/something
resurvey
rubbernecking
sighting
spot
tab

You can also find related words, phrases, and synonyms in the topics:

Medical examination

scan | American Dictionary

scan
verb[ I/T ]
us/skæn/-nn-
to examine something carefully:
[ I ]This technique is used to scan for defective genes.
If an image or text on paper is scanned into a computer, it is changed into electronic information by a special device:
[ T ]A little hand-held device beeps as soon as it has scanned a bar code.
If you scan a text you read it quickly:
[ T ]I scanned a few pages of the book and thought it looked interesting.
scan
noun[ C ]
us/skæn/
the act of looking at or through something carefully or quickly:
A quick scan of my calendar shows that I’m pretty busy this week.
a security scan of passengers’ bags
A scan is an examination of the inside of something, such as part of the body or a package, using a computerized device to produce an image of what cannot be seen with the eyes:
a medical scan of the head

scan | Business English

scan
verb[ T ]
uk /skæn/us-nn-
IT, COMMERCE
to use a piece of electronic equipment to get information from something such as a bank card or a product's barcode:
The barcode is scanned to get the price of the product.
IT
to use a machine to make a copy of a document or picture and put it into a computer:
He scanned the document and emailed it to the head office.
to look through a text quickly in order to find a piece of information that you want or to get a general idea of what it is about:
I scanned the article looking for details, but didn't find anything.
scan
noun
uk /skæn/us
[ C ] IT
a picture of a document that has been put into a computer:
The machine received a good score for its color scans.
[ S ]
a quick look through something, especially in order to check that it is good enough:
Can you give this letter a quick scan?

Examples of scan

scan
Unambiguous scans within family are most useful for retrieving just the highest order of analysis.
The x-ray was prepared by conventional means and then scanned to transmit it.
In practice, however, this is a realistic option only for a limited number of markers in, say, more detailed mapping after a first genome scan.
With this in mind, the following sections summarise safety considerations relating to particular conditions and scan modes.
In all, 30 tapes with over 100-hours of footage were scanned using event sampling to note and time each discrete interactional episode.
This is far from ideal since most patients have to be scanned in the supine position with their arms up.
The inspection system enabled the user to scan the surface of hybrid microcircuits.
The application of a very sharp needle with a tip in atomic dimensions is used to scan material surfaces very closely.
Several scanning electron micrographs are exhibited which illustrate the ovum surface detail at various magnifications.
The handwritten essays are then scanned and scored by two independent readers.
Only densitometry scans of these profiles can show possible alterations.
Unfortunately, this unique specimen was destroyed during preparation for scanning electron micrography.
Wasting time scanning too much information in order to get a complex picture of various factors can be fatal in real life conditions.
The value of examination of the relationship of the abdominal great vessels as part of the fetal scan, therefore, should be emphasized.
Three blimps stayed in formation while performing a raster scan.
See all examples of scan
These examples are from corpora and from sources on the web. Any opinions in the examples do not represent the opinion of the Cambridge Dictionary editors or of Cambridge University Press or its licensors.