"scanning" in the noun sense
1. scanning
the process of translating photographs into a digital form that can be recognized by a computer
2. scanning
the act of systematically moving a finely focused beam of light or electrons over a surface in order to produce an image of it for analysis or transmission
"scanning" in the verb sense
1. scan
examine minutely or intensely
"the surgeon scanned the X-ray"
2. scan, skim, rake, glance over, run down
examine hastily
"She scanned the newspaper headlines while waiting for the taxi"
3. scan
make a wide, sweeping search of
"The beams scanned the night sky"
4. scan
conform to a metrical pattern
5. scan
move a light beam over in electronics, to reproduce an image
6. scan
read metrically
"scan verses"
7. read, scan
obtain data from magnetic tapes or other digital sources
"This dictionary can be read by the computer"
Source: WordNet® (An amazing lexical database of English)
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