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Definition of pan out - 4 dictionary results
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pan

1  [pan] noun, verb, panned, pan⋅ning.
Use pan out in a Sentence
–noun
1. a broad, shallow container of metal, usually having sides flaring outward toward the top, used in various forms for frying, baking, washing, etc.
2. any similar receptacle or part, as the scales of a balance.
3. the amount a pan holds or can hold; panful: a pan of shelled peas.
4. any of various open or closed containers used in industrial or mechanical processes.
5. a container in which silver ores are ground and amalgamated.
6. a container in which gold or other heavy, valuable metals are separated from gravel or other substances by agitation with water.
7. a drifting piece of flat, thin ice, as formed on a shore or bay.
8. a natural depression in the ground, as one containing water, mud, or mineral salts.
9. a similar depression made artificially, as for evaporating salt water to make salt.
10. (in old guns) the depressed part of the lock, holding the priming.
11. Also, panning. an unfavorable review, critique, or appraisal: The show got one rave and three pans.
12. Slang. the face.
–verb (used with object)
13. Informal. to criticize severely, as in a review of a play.
14. to wash (gravel, sand, etc.) in a pan to separate gold or other heavy valuable metal.
15. to cook (oysters, clams, etc.) in a pan.
–verb (used without object)
16. to wash gravel, sand, etc., in a pan in seeking gold or the like.
17. to yield gold or the like, as gravel washed in a pan.
—Verb phrase
18. pan out, Informal. to turn out, esp. successfully: The couple's reconciliation just didn't pan out.
Origin:
bef. 900; ME, OE panne; c. D pan, G Pfanne, ON panna

Related forms:
panner, noun
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
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Pan Out
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pan 1   (pān)   
n.  

  1. A shallow, wide, open container, usually of metal and without a lid, used for holding liquids, cooking, and other domestic purposes.

  2. A vessel similar in form to a pan, especially:

    1. An open metal dish used to separate gold or other metal from gravel or waste by washing.

    2. Either of the receptacles on a balance or pair of scales.

    3. A vessel used for boiling and evaporating liquids.

    4. A basin or depression in the earth, often containing mud or water.

    5. A natural or artificial basin used to obtain salt by evaporating brine.

    6. Hardpan.

    1. A basin or depression in the earth, often containing mud or water.

    2. A natural or artificial basin used to obtain salt by evaporating brine.

    3. Hardpan.

  4. A freely floating piece of ice that has broken off a larger floe.

  5. The small cavity in the lock of a flintlock used to hold powder.

  6. Music A steel drum.

  7. Slang The face.

  8. Informal Severe criticism, especially a negative review: gave the film a pan.

v.   panned, pan·ning, pans

v.   tr.

  1. To wash (gravel, for example) in a pan for gold or other precious metal.

  2. To cook (food) in a pan: panned the fish right after catching it.

  3. Informal To criticize or review harshly.

v.   intr.

  1. To wash gravel, sand, or other sediment in a pan.

  2. To yield gold as a result of washing in a pan.

Phrasal Verb(s):
pan outTo turn out well; be successful: "If I don't pan out as an actor I can still go back to school" (Saul Bellow).

[Middle English, from Old English panne, from West Germanic *panna, probably from Vulgar Latin *patna, from Latin patina, shallow pan, platter, from Greek patanē; see petə- in Indo-European roots.]
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2009 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
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Medical Dictionary

Main Entry: PAN
Function: abbreviation
peroxyacetyl nitrate
Merriam-Webster's Medical Dictionary, © 2002 Merriam-Webster, Inc.
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Idioms & Phrases

pan out

Turn out well, succeed, as in If I don't pan out as a musician, I can always go back to school. This expression alludes to washing gold from gravel in a pan. [Mid-1800s]

The American Heritage® Dictionary of Idioms by Christine Ammer.
Copyright © 1997. Published by Houghton Mifflin.
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