scope out

verb

scoped out; scoping out; scopes out

US, informal

: to look at (someone or something) especially in order to get information

They scoped out the area before setting up the tent.

Players were scoping out the competition.

He wants to scope out all of the possibilities before deciding what to do.

Examples of scope out in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

Equipped with cameras and sensors to scope out potential threats from a bird’s-eye view, the small UAVs stand on alert in four gray weatherproof boxes until deployed at officers’ commands. — Collin Binkley, Los Angeles Times, 23 Sep. 2026

Equipped with cameras and sensors to scope out potential threats from a bird’s-eye view, the small UAVs stand on alert in four gray weatherproof boxes until deployed at officers' commands. — ABC News, 23 Sep. 2026

The team made a series of short trips to Zeraati’s home to scope out his neighborhood and study his movements. — Cora Engelbrecht, New Yorker, 24 Aug. 2026

For lunch, dig into bison chili or smoked brisket nachos at Jacobs Brewhouse and Grocer, and scope out their pastry case for fresh peach cake too. — Jacqueline Kehoe, Midwest Living, 19 Aug. 2026

Rhymes for scope out

• roundabout
• runabout
• sauerkraut
• thereabout
• turnabout
• about
• bailout
• blackout
• blowout
• breakout
• burnout
• buyout