I . *pan
/ pæn; NAmE / noun , verb
■ noun
1.
a container, usually made of metal, with a handle or handles, used for cooking food in :
pots and pans
a large stainless steel pan
—see also frying pan , saucepan
2.
the amount contained in a pan :
a pan of boiling water
3.
( NAmE ) = tin (5):
a cake pan
4.
either of the dishes on a pair of scales that you put things into in order to weigh them
5.
( BrE ) the bowl of a toilet
—see also bedpan , dustpan , skidpan , warming pan
•
IDIOMS
- go down the pan
—more at flash noun
■ verb ( -nn- )
1.
[ vn ] [ usually passive ] ( informal ) to severely criticize sth such as a play or a film / movie
SYN slate
2.
if a television or video camera pans somewhere, or a person pans or pans a camera , the camera moves in a particular direction, to follow an object or to film a wide area :
[ v + adv. / prep. ]
The camera panned back to the audience.
[ vn ]
He panned the camera along the row of faces.
3.
pan (for sth) to wash soil or small stones in a pan to find gold or other valuable minerals :
[ v ]
panning for gold
[also vn ]
•
PHRASAL VERBS
- pan out
II . pan
= paan
••
WORD ORIGIN
noun and verb sense 1 verb sense 3 and pvsym. idsym. Old English panne , of West Germanic origin; related to Dutch pan , German Pfanne , perhaps based on Latin patina dish.
verb sense 2 early 20th cent.: abbreviation of panorama .