Scan  —v. (-nn-) 1 look at intently or quickly. 2 (of a verse etc.) Be metrically correct. 3 a examine (a surface etc.) To detect radioactivity etc. B traverse (a particular region) with a radar etc. Beam. 4 resolve (a picture) into its elements of light and shade for esp. Television transmission. 5 analyse the metrical structure of (verse). 6 obtain an image of (part of the body) using a scanner. —n. 1 scanning. 2 image obtained by scanning. [latin scando climb, scan]