panned out

verb

past tense of pan out
1
as in proved
to come to be the eagerly anticipated kayaking trip never panned out

Synonyms & Similar Words

Relevance
2
as in succeeded
to turn out as planned or desired the investment scheme didn't quite pan out

Synonyms & Similar Words

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

Example Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of panned out The location was supposed to be the city of Gary at the time and that never panned out. — Ryan Canfield Outkick, FOXNews.com, 20 Sep. 2026 For one thing, similar pledges he's made in the past haven't panned out. — Zachary Schermele, USA Today, 10 Sep. 2026 The mayor said the City Council's ideas for balancing the budget haven't panned out. — Todd Feurer, CBS News, 25 Aug. 2026 Few free agents have panned out With the exceptions of edge rusher Josh Uche and safety Zayne Anderson, most of the free agents Miami signed this offseason turned out to be mediocre NFL players. — Omar Kelly august 24, Miami Herald, 24 Aug. 2026 The sweet video showed Diplo clapping his hands and dancing behind his laptop and speakers, before the camera panned out to show the youngsters. — Kayla Grant, PEOPLE, 17 Aug. 2026 But those hopes haven’t panned out as hoped and the team was forced to make some relief trades before the deadline and search for a potential back-end starter upgrade. — Peter Chawaga, Forbes.com, 15 Aug. 2026 Several of his Hollywood projects in recent years haven’t panned out or remain in development hell. — Gary Baum, HollywoodReporter, 13 Aug. 2026 Williams said that investigators have pursued a few leads over the years but that none of them has panned out. — Francie Ebert, NBC news, 12 Aug. 2026
Recent Examples of Synonyms for panned out
  1. proved
  2. succeeded
  3. evolved
  4. worked out
  5. went
  6. went over
Verb
  • That proved to be wrong, as murders and shootings in the city hit record lows in Mamdani’s first seven months.
    — Marlow Stern, Variety, 29 Sep. 2026
  • False certainty is common enough in political life, and history is crowded with confident warnings that proved wrong.
    — Beverly Gage, New Yorker, 28 Sep. 2026
Definition of proved
Verb
  • The duo succeeded ex-CEO Safra Catz, who remains as executive vice chair.
    — Amanda Gerut, Fortune, 26 Sep. 2026
  • Successive administrations have supported the eventual transfer, but so far have not succeeded.
    — Lim Hui Jie, CNBC, 24 Sep. 2026
Definition of succeeded
Verb
  • Husted and other Republicans could use a messaging win on the data center front, which has evolved in recent months into a potent campaign issue as opponents seek stricter guardrails for developers.
    — Justin Papp, CNBC, 30 Sep. 2026
  • In response, Banesco USA has continued to invest in key markets like Palm Beach County, which has evolved into a year-round business hub, and Broward County, where demand remains strong for expansion, real estate activity, and long-term growth.
    — JP Shaffer, Miami Herald, 30 Sep. 2026
Definition of evolved
Verb
  • The Dolphins opted to sign none of the four backs who worked out for them on Tuesday -- former Canes standout Damien Martinez, former Titans fourth-rounder Hassan Haskins, Davie University School alum Kenny McIntosh and rookie Elija-Tau Tolliver.
    — Barry Jackson, Miami Herald, 30 Sep. 2026
  • But Finebaum's right that, whatever the reason, the Riley era in LA hasn't worked out the way many expected.
    — Ian Miller OutKick, FOXNews.com, 29 Sep. 2026
Definition of worked out
Verb
  • The movie was met with multiple mid-screening applauses as the crowd went wild for all the kaiju mayhem on screen.
    — Antonio Ferme, Variety, 27 Sep. 2026
  • The Tigers went 99 yards in 12 plays and got a 10-yard touchdown run from Nichols.
    — Erick Taylor, Arkansas Online, 27 Sep. 2026
Definition of went
Verb
  • Of Packers quarterback Jordan Love’s 29 attempts against the Jets, 21 went over the middle.
    — Daniel Flick, AJC.com, 24 Sep. 2026
  • Ballas went over to say hello and sat with Whitney Leavitt for a few of the dances.
    — Liza Esquibias, USA Today, 15 Sep. 2026
Definition of went over

Browse Nearby Words

panned
panned out
panning
See all Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

“Panned out.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/panned%20out. Accessed 2 Oct. 2026.

Copy Citation
Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!

More from Merriam-Webster

Word of the Day

Listen to the pronunciation of heterodox

See Definitions and Examples »

Popular in Grammar & Usage

See More

Do You Need a New Language Peeve?

More Commonly Mispronounced Words

Merriam-Webster’s Great Big List of Words You Love to Hate

'A' or 'an'? What about before 'h'? An Indefinite Article Guide

Why is '-ed' sometimes pronounced at the end of a word?
See More

Popular in Wordplay

See More

7 Great Ways to Say 'Great'

The Longest Long Words List

9 Words That Sound Like Insults But Aren't

The Words of the Week - Oct. 2

16 Food Words Recently Added to the Dictionary
See More

Popular

See More

Do You Need a New Language Peeve?

7 Great Ways to Say 'Great'

The Longest Long Words List
See More

Games & Quizzes

See All
Play Quordle: Guess all four words in a limited number of tries. Each of your guesses must be a real 5-letter word.
Quordle Can you solve 4 words at once?
Play Blossom: Solve today's spelling word game by finding as many words as you can using just 7 letters. Longer words score more points.
Blossom Pick the best words!
Play Missing Letter: a crossword with a twist. Each of the 25 puzzle words start with a different letter of the alphabet. Which letter is missing?
The Missing Letter A daily crossword with a twist
name tags
Words Named After People Quiz Find out who’s behind "leotard," "morphine," an...
See All