as in surveys
to look over closely (as for judging quality or condition)
scanned the manuscript carefully for any overlooked errors
Synonyms & Similar Words
Relevance
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
as in inspections
a close look at or over someone or something in order to judge condition
gave the car a good scan to see if it was worth buying
Synonyms & Similar Words
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 scans
Nick Bowlin, The Frontier, 16 Feb. 2026
Inside the facility, Angela empties her pockets, a guard scans her with a metal-detection wand, pats her down and asks her to spread her legs.
—Miami Herald, 31 Jan. 2026
Instead of clicking a suspicious link in an email, the victim scans a QR code that hides the real destination.
—Kurt Knutsson, FOXNews.com, 21 Jan. 2026
Using high-speed sensors, the system scans the road surface up to 500 times per second and can adjust damping as often as 200 times per second, reacting within milliseconds.
—Bojan Stojkovski, Interesting Engineering, 11 Jan. 2026
Smartphone app Brickit, which predates the AI boom, scans a photo of a user’s available blocks and suggests what to build with step-by-step instructions.
—Rachyl Jones, semafor.com, 9 Jan. 2026
The tool simply scans your bank account for on-time payments on things like your cell phone bill, utilities, subscriptions, rent and insurance, and adds those to your Experian credit report.
—Andreina Rodriguez, CNBC, 27 Dec. 2025
One of Crossfire’s drones scans the terrain and distinguishes between a burning pile of pallets and a small fire in a bin.
—IEEE Spectrum, 24 Dec. 2025
As Foden is receiving the ball, Haaland scans the area and can see Jean-Clair Todibo preparing to drop deeper.
—Ahmed Walid, New York Times, 24 Dec. 2025
Ron Smiley, CBS News, 14 Feb. 2026
One metric is the percentage of lean muscle in your body, assessed by body composition tests such as DEXA scans.
—Alexa Mikhail, Flow Space, 13 Feb. 2026
The patients whose scans show no disease but whose daily lives show fatigue, neuropathy, anxiety.
—Gilberto Lopes, STAT, 12 Feb. 2026
Sodickson has had many MRIs in his life, including Ezra scans and a Function blood test.
—David Oliver, USA Today, 11 Feb. 2026
By performing frequent, autonomous inventory scans, the drones provide operators with near real-time visibility into pallet locations and dwell times.
—Neetika Walter, Interesting Engineering, 10 Feb. 2026
Later, on a computer, Schacht pulled up scans that showed what addiction looks like in the brain.
—Dhruv Khullar, New Yorker, 9 Feb. 2026
René Vidal, a professor in engineering and radiology at the University of Pennsylvania’s Penn Engineering department, views AI as particularly useful for capturing high-quality MRI scans with fewer measurements.
—Lisa Eadicicco, CNN Money, 9 Feb. 2026
Think of it as the difference between a doctor making a diagnosis based solely on physical examination versus having access to MRI scans and blood work.
—Jason Corso, Fortune, 8 Feb. 2026
Verb
The oil division also ran a different test that scans for wastewater leaks.
—Nick Bowlin, The Frontier, 16 Feb. 2026
Inside the facility, Angela empties her pockets, a guard scans her with a metal-detection wand, pats her down and asks her to spread her legs.
—Miami Herald, 31 Jan. 2026
Instead of clicking a suspicious link in an email, the victim scans a QR code that hides the real destination.
—Kurt Knutsson, FOXNews.com, 21 Jan. 2026
Using high-speed sensors, the system scans the road surface up to 500 times per second and can adjust damping as often as 200 times per second, reacting within milliseconds.
—Bojan Stojkovski, Interesting Engineering, 11 Jan. 2026
Smartphone app Brickit, which predates the AI boom, scans a photo of a user’s available blocks and suggests what to build with step-by-step instructions.
—Rachyl Jones, semafor.com, 9 Jan. 2026
The tool simply scans your bank account for on-time payments on things like your cell phone bill, utilities, subscriptions, rent and insurance, and adds those to your Experian credit report.
—Andreina Rodriguez, CNBC, 27 Dec. 2025
One of Crossfire’s drones scans the terrain and distinguishes between a burning pile of pallets and a small fire in a bin.
—IEEE Spectrum, 24 Dec. 2025
As Foden is receiving the ball, Haaland scans the area and can see Jean-Clair Todibo preparing to drop deeper.
—Ahmed Walid, New York Times, 24 Dec. 2025
Noun
Satellite and radar imagery clearly show our next weather system that will impact our area on Sunday, working its way through Kansas, Missouri, Oklahoma, & Arkansas on morning scans.
—Ron Smiley, CBS News, 14 Feb. 2026
One metric is the percentage of lean muscle in your body, assessed by body composition tests such as DEXA scans.
—Alexa Mikhail, Flow Space, 13 Feb. 2026
The patients whose scans show no disease but whose daily lives show fatigue, neuropathy, anxiety.
—Gilberto Lopes, STAT, 12 Feb. 2026
Sodickson has had many MRIs in his life, including Ezra scans and a Function blood test.
—David Oliver, USA Today, 11 Feb. 2026
By performing frequent, autonomous inventory scans, the drones provide operators with near real-time visibility into pallet locations and dwell times.
—Neetika Walter, Interesting Engineering, 10 Feb. 2026
Later, on a computer, Schacht pulled up scans that showed what addiction looks like in the brain.
—Dhruv Khullar, New Yorker, 9 Feb. 2026
René Vidal, a professor in engineering and radiology at the University of Pennsylvania’s Penn Engineering department, views AI as particularly useful for capturing high-quality MRI scans with fewer measurements.
—Lisa Eadicicco, CNN Money, 9 Feb. 2026
Think of it as the difference between a doctor making a diagnosis based solely on physical examination versus having access to MRI scans and blood work.
—Jason Corso, Fortune, 8 Feb. 2026
Recent Examples of Synonyms for scans
Verb
-
Even with the increases, Miami-area prices remain under $3 a gallon and are 28 cents lower than a year ago, according to GasBuddy, a national fuel monitoring service that surveys nearly 1,700 stations in South Florida.—
Miami Herald,
Miami Herald,
26 Jan. 2026
-
The report surveys a total of 1,900 films released between 2007 and 2025.—
Angelique Jackson,
Variety,
31 Dec. 2025
Noun
-
That’s because about $440 million in the program remains unspent — the result of recent eligibility changes and homeowners receiving free inspections but not upgrading their homes to receive the grants.—
Lawrence Mower,
Miami Herald,
19 Feb. 2026
-
General home inspections commonly run around the low-to-mid $300s in KC, varying with size and age according to Homeyou.—
Allison Palmer
Updated February 19,
Kansas City Star,
19 Feb. 2026
Verb
-
The two parties have not come to a resolution after a two-day fact-finding session, in which a neutral panel reviews contract disputes.—
Jennah Pendleton,
Sacbee.com,
20 Feb. 2026
-
Kim has been touting the progress of various projects ahead of this month’s Ninth Congress, the country’s biggest political gathering that reviews performance, sets new policy goals and can bring leadership change.—
Reuters,
NBC news,
19 Feb. 2026
Noun
-
And the bureau has said its digital evidence laboratory conducts hundreds of audio and video examinations each year.—
Stepheny Price,
FOXNews.com,
12 Feb. 2026
-
But those examinations and other fees associated with the deal eventually saw the move collapse.—
Matt Woosnam,
New York Times,
4 Feb. 2026
Verb
-
In Generation, Mehraneh Salimian’s documentary Memories of a Window examines the crackdown on student protests in Iran.—
Scott Roxborough,
HollywoodReporter,
14 Feb. 2026
-
While the analysis examines the impact of slowing growth in 2026, the issue could have long-term ramifications on everything from the strength of the Social Security system to job opportunities for younger workers.—
Aimee Picchi,
CBS News,
11 Feb. 2026
Noun
-
For decades, California lawmakers requested state audits, Californians have paid for those audits, and the State Auditor provided detailed recommendations on how to fix waste, fraud, and oversight failures across state government.—
0,
CBS News,
16 Feb. 2026
-
Its delay is a win for Mayor Kirk Watson, who is separately pushing to pass a city ordinance requiring external audits.—
Chaya Tong,
Austin American Statesman,
11 Feb. 2026
Verb
-
After driving through the first security checkpoint, a second guard inspects her rental car and verifies her ID.—
Miami Herald,
Miami Herald,
31 Jan. 2026
-
Make sure to put the protective sheath over the blade or wrap it to prevent injuries to anyone who inspects your luggage at the airport.—
Karen Brewer Grossman,
Southern Living,
12 Jan. 2026
Verb
-
This article was generated by software that analyzes National Weather Service warnings and advisories and creates an article based on templates created by humans.—
Southern California Weather Report,
Daily News,
22 Feb. 2026
-
This article was generated by the Bay Area Home Report Bot, software that analyzes home sales or other data and creates an article based on a template created by humans.—
Bay Area Home Report,
Mercury News,
21 Feb. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Scans.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/scans. Accessed 22 Feb. 2026.
Copy CitationLove words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
