pan
1a broad, shallow container of metal, usually having sides flaring outward toward the top, used in various forms for frying, baking, washing, etc.
any similar receptacle or part, as the scales of a balance.
the amount a pan holds or can hold; panful: a pan of shelled peas.
any of various open or closed containers used in industrial or mechanical processes.
a container in which silver ores are ground and amalgamated.
a container in which gold or other heavy, valuable metals are separated from gravel or other substances by agitation with water.
a drifting piece of flat, thin ice, as formed on a shore or bay.
a natural depression in the ground, as one containing water, mud, or mineral salts.
a similar depression made artificially, as for evaporating salt water to make salt.
(in old guns) the depressed part of the lock, holding the priming.
Also pan·ning . an unfavorable review, critique, or appraisal: The show got one rave and three pans.
Slang. the face.
Informal. to criticize severely, as in a review of a play.
to wash (gravel, sand, etc.) in a pan to separate gold or other heavy, valuable metal.
to separate (gold or other heavy, valuable metal) from gravel or sand in this way.
to cook or bake in a pan.
to wash gravel, sand, etc., in a pan in seeking gold or the like.
to yield gold or the like, as gravel washed in a pan.
pan out, Informal. to turn out, especially successfully: The couple's reconciliation just didn't pan out.
Origin of pan
1Other words from pan
- pan·ner, noun
Other definitions for pan (2 of 8)
to film, photograph, or televise something with the camera fixed in place and pivoted horizontally left or right, in order to keep a moving person or object in view or to capture a wide view: They usually pan from one end of the playing field to the other during the opening of the football game.
(of a camera) to be pivoted horizontally to the right or left from a fixed place in order to keep a moving person or object in view or to capture a wide view: The cameras panned occasionally during the scene.
to pivot (a camera) on its horizontal axis in order to follow a moving person or thing, or to capture an extended view: to pan the camera across the scene.
to photograph, film, or televise (a scene, moving character, etc.) by pivoting the camera on its horizontal axis:pan the skyline.
Audio. to direct (a signal output) to one of the speakers in a sound system, to a point between speakers, or, especially, through a continuum from one side to the other to create the impression that the source is moving: They gradually panned the vocal recording from the right to the left channel as the song progressed.
the act of pivoting a camera, which is fixed in place, to the left or right.
Also called panning shot . the filmed shot resulting from this.
Origin of pan
2Other definitions for pan (3 of 8)
a major vertical division of a wall.
a nogged panel of half-timber construction.
Origin of pan
3Other definitions for pan (4 of 8)
the leaf of the betel.
a substance, especially betel nut or a betel-nut mixture, used for chewing.
Origin of pan
4Other definitions for pan (5 of 8)
Origin of pan
5Other definitions for Pan (6 of 8)
the ancient Greek god of forests, pastures, flocks, and shepherds, represented with the head, chest, and arms of a man and the legs and sometimes the horns and ears of a goat.
Other definitions for pan- (7 of 8)
a combining form meaning “all,” occurring originally in loanwords from Greek (panacea; panoply), but now used freely as a general formative (panleukopenia; panorama; pantelegraph; pantheism; pantonality), and especially in terms, formed at will, implying the union of all branches of a group (Pan-Christian; Panhellenic; Pan-Slavism). The hyphen and the second capital tend with longer use to be lost, unless they are retained in order to set off clearly the component parts.
Origin of pan-
7Other definitions for Pan. (8 of 8)
Panama.
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024
How to use pan in a sentence
With a 1¾-inch ice cream scoop (or two spoons), scoop round balls of dough onto the prepared sheet pans.
Make These Barefoot Contessa Salty Oatmeal Chocolate Chunk Cookies | Ina Garten | November 28, 2014 | THE DAILY BEAST“The people are outraged, everyone is on his balcony, beating pots and pans” in protests, he said.
Turkey Faces More Strife After Erdogan’s Election Win | Thomas Seibert | March 31, 2014 | THE DAILY BEASTHer first job was as a “kitchen boy,” carrying pots and pans to Makalu.
Breaking Mount Everest’s Glass Ceiling | Amanda Padoan, Peter Zuckerman | March 30, 2014 | THE DAILY BEASTThere were two cars, so the camera sees one taxi go under the bridge, then it pans and sees another car drive up to the station.
Ralph Fiennes Discusses ‘The Grand Budapest Hotel,’ J. Lo, and That ‘Seinfeld’ Episode | Marlow Stern | March 6, 2014 | THE DAILY BEASTHis head pans around 360 degrees, surveying each and every seating possibility.
True Detective Director Cary Fukunaga’s Journey from Pro Snowboarder to Hollywood’s Most Wanted | Marlow Stern | February 26, 2014 | THE DAILY BEAST
Beds, in those days, were warmed with copper warming pans, and nightcaps adorned the slumbering heads of both sexes.
Fifty Years of Railway Life in England, Scotland and Ireland | Joseph TatlowA most comical sight was the cook, perched on top of his load of pans, pots, and potatoes.
Our Little Korean Cousin | H. Lee M. PikeAs on the preceding day, the cook rode perched upon his pony's load of kettles, pans, and pots.
Our Little Korean Cousin | H. Lee M. PikeAll the bamboo clappers, cocoanut shells, tin pans, and red flags that could be found were seized and put into use.
Alila, Our Little Philippine Cousin | Mary Hazelton WadeSo this is what our famous agreement to have munitions on the scale deemed necessary by Joffre and French pans out at in practice.
Gallipoli Diary, Volume I | Ian Hamilton
British Dictionary definitions for pan (1 of 6)
/ (pæn) /
a wide metal vessel used in cooking
(in combination): saucepan
Also called: panful the amount such a vessel will hold
any of various similar vessels used esp in industry, as for boiling liquids
a dish used by prospectors, esp gold prospectors, for separating a valuable mineral from the gravel or earth containing it by washing and agitating
either of the two dishlike receptacles on a balance
Also called: lavatory pan British the bowl of a lavatory
a natural or artificial depression in the ground where salt can be obtained by the evaporation of brine
a natural depression containing water or mud
Caribbean the indented top from an oil drum used as the treble drum in a steel band
a small ice floe
a slang word for face (def. 1a)
a small cavity containing priming powder in the locks of old guns
a hard substratum of soil
short for pan loaf
(when tr, often foll by off or out) to wash (gravel) in a pan to separate particles of (valuable minerals) from it
(intr often foll by out) (of gravel) to yield valuable minerals by this process
(tr) informal to criticize harshly: the critics panned his new play
Origin of pan
1- See also pan out
British Dictionary definitions for pan (2 of 6)
/ (pæn) /
to move (a film camera) or (of a film camera) to be moved so as to follow a moving object or obtain a panoramic effect
the act of panning
(as modifier): a pan shot
Origin of pan
2British Dictionary definitions for pan (3 of 6)
paan (pɑːn)
/ (pæn) /
the leaf of the betel tree
a preparation of this leaf which is chewed, together with betel nuts and lime, in India and the East Indies
Origin of pan
3British Dictionary definitions for Pan (4 of 6)
/ (pæn) /
Greek myth the god of fields, woods, shepherds, and flocks, represented as a man with a goat's legs, horns, and ears: Related adjectives: Pandean, Panic
British Dictionary definitions for pan- (5 of 6)
all or every: panchromatic
including or relating to all parts or members: Pan-African; pantheistic
Origin of pan-
5British Dictionary definitions for Pan. (6 of 6)
Panama
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012
Cultural definitions for Pan
The Greek god of flocks, forests, meadows, and shepherds. He had the horns and feet of a goat. Pan frolicked about the landscape, playing delightful tunes.
Notes for Pan
Notes for Pan
The New Dictionary of Cultural Literacy, Third Edition Copyright © 2005 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.
Other Idioms and Phrases with pan
In addition to the idiom beginning with pan
- pan out
also see:
- flash in the pan
- out of the frying pan
The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
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