pan1

[pan] /pæn/
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), panned, panning.
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), panned, panning.
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 phrases
18.
pan out, Informal. to turn out, especially successfully:
The couple's reconciliation just didn't pan out.
Origin
before 900; Middle English, Old English panne; cognate with Dutch pan, German Pfanne, Old Norse panna
Related forms
panner, noun

pan2

[pahn] /pɑn/
noun
1.
the leaf of the betel.
2.
a substance, especially betel nut or a betel-nut mixture, used for chewing.
Origin
1610-20; < Hindi pān; compare Pali, Prakrit paṇṇa, Sanskrit parṇa leaf, betel leaf

pan3

[pan] /pæn/
verb (used without object), panned, panning.
1.
to photograph or televise while rotating a camera on its vertical or horizontal axis in order to keep a moving person or object in view or allow the film to record a panorama:
to pan from one end of the playing field to the other during the opening of the football game.
2.
(of a camera) to be moved or manipulated in such a manner:
The cameras panned occasionally during the scene.
verb (used with object), panned, panning.
3.
to move (a camera) in such a manner:
to pan the camera across the scene.
4.
to photograph or televise (a scene, moving character, etc.) by panning the camera.
noun
5.
the act of panning a camera.
6.
Also called panning shot. the filmed shot resulting from this.
Origin
1920-25; shortening of panorama

pan4

[pan] /pæn/
noun
1.
a major vertical division of a wall.
2.
a nogged panel of half-timber construction.
Origin
1735-45; < French, Middle French: pane

pan5

[pahn] /pɑn/
noun, Informal.
1.
panguingue.
Origin
by shortening

Pan

[pan] /pæn/
noun
1.
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.

pan-pan

[pahn-pahn] /ˈpɑnˈpɑn/
noun
1.
an international distress signal used by shore stations to inform a ship, aircraft, etc., of something vital to its safety or to the safety of one of its passengers.
Also, pan.
Origin
reduplication and alteration of French panne ‘breakdown, failure’
Examples from the web for pans
  • There's an abundant supply of salt, which lawmakers often took grains of, and pans that once held flashes.
  • He loved working with props, juggling everything from frying pans to vases, and he loved stretching out routines.
  • Refrigerate overnight in bread pans or on a baking sheet greased with olive oil and dusted with einkorn flour.
  • What you do is put a little bit of water in the canner, and three smaller pans of water on the other burners.
  • High temperatures won't damage it, so you can put hot pots and pans on the surface.
  • Stock up on handmade shoes, flannel shirts, and cast-iron pans.
  • Spray loaf pans with oil and place shaped loaves into the pans.
  • To boost moisture, fill a couple of wide, deep pans with water and slide them in next to the potatoes.
  • There were no real plates, no real knives and forks, no real pots and pans.
  • If iron pans are used they must be previously heated.
British Dictionary definitions for pans

pan1

/pæn/
noun
1.
  1. a wide metal vessel used in cooking
  2. (in combination): saucepan
2.
Also called panful. the amount such a vessel will hold
3.
any of various similar vessels used esp in industry, as for boiling liquids
4.
a dish used by prospectors, esp gold prospectors, for separating a valuable mineral from the gravel or earth containing it by washing and agitating
5.
either of the two dishlike receptacles on a balance
6.
(Brit) Also called lavatory pan. the bowl of a lavatory
7.
  1. a natural or artificial depression in the ground where salt can be obtained by the evaporation of brine
  2. a natural depression containing water or mud
8.
(Caribbean) the indented top from an oil drum used as the treble drum in a steel band
9.
See hardpan, brainpan
10.
a small ice floe
11.
a slang word for face (sense 1a)
12.
a small cavity containing priming powder in the locks of old guns
13.
a hard substratum of soil
14.
short for pan loaf
verb pans, panning, panned
15.
when tr, often foll by off or out. to wash (gravel) in a pan to separate particles of (valuable minerals) from it
16.
(intransitive) often foll by out. (of gravel) to yield valuable minerals by this process
17.
(transitive) (informal) to criticize harshly: the critics panned his new play
See also pan out
Word Origin
Old English panne; related to Old Saxon, Old Norse panna, Old High German pfanna

pan2

/pæn/
verb pans, panning, panned
1.
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
noun
2.
  1. the act of panning
  2. (as modifier): a pan shot
Word Origin
C20: shortened from panoramic

pan3

/pæn/
noun
1.
the leaf of the betel tree
2.
a preparation of this leaf which is chewed, together with betel nuts and lime, in India and the East Indies
Word Origin
C17: from Hindi, from Sanskrit parna feather, wing, leaf

Pan

/pæn/
noun
1.
(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
Word Origin and History for pans

pan

n.

Old English panne, earlier ponne (Mercian) "pan," from West Germanic *panna "pan" (cf. Old Norse panna, Old Frisian panne, Middle Dutch panne, Dutch pan, Old Low German panna, Old High German phanna, German pfanne), probably an early borrowing (4c. or 5c.) from Vulgar Latin *patna, from Latin patina "shallow pan, dish, stewpan," from Greek patane "plate, dish," from PIE *pet-ano-, from root *pete- "to spread" (see pace (n.)). Irish panna probably is from English, and Lithuanian pana is from German.

Used of pan-shaped parts of mechanical apparatus from c.1590; hence flash in the pan, a figurative use from early firearms, where a pan held the priming (and the gunpowder might "flash," but no shot ensue). To go out of the (frying) pan into the fire is first found in Spenser (1596).

v.

"to wash gravel or sand in a pan in search of gold," 1839, from pan (n.); thus to pan out "turn out, succeed" (1868) is a figurative use of this (literal sense from 1849). The meaning "criticize severely" is from 1911, probably from the notion in contemporary slang expressions such as on the pan "under reprimand or criticism" (1923). Related: Panned; panning.

"follow with a camera," 1913 shortening of panoramic in panoramic camera (1878). Meaning "to swing from one object to another in a scene" is from 1931. Related: Panned; panning.

Pan

Arcadian shepherd god with upper body of a man and horns and lower part like a goat, late 14c., a god of the woods and fields, from Latin, from Greek Pan. Klein says perhaps cognate with Sanskrit pusan, a Vedic god, guardian and multiplier of cattle and other human possessions, literally "nourisher." Similarity to pan "all" (see pan-) led to his being regarded as a personification of nature. Pan-pipe, upon which he supposedly played, is attested from 1820.

pans in Culture

Pan definition


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.

Note: Pan's musical instrument was a set of reed pipes, the “pipes of Pan.”
Note: According to legend, Pan was the source of scary noises in the wilderness at night. Fright at these noises was called “panic.”
Slang definitions & phrases for pans

pan

noun
  1. The face; mug: too great for them to keep their pans shut (1923+)
  2. : an out-and-out pan
verb

To criticize severely and adversely; derogate harshly; roast: The Daily Worker panned his first novel (1909+)

Related Terms

deadpan, flash in the pan

[noun sense 2 and verb sense fr the fact that roasting is done in a pan]


pan

modifier

: a pan shot

verb

To move the camera across a visual field to give a panoramic effect or follow something moving

[1922+ Movie studio; fr panorama]


pans in Technology


Pretty Amazing New Stuff.

Related Abbreviations for pans

PANS

pretty awesome new stuff

PAN

  1. peroxyacetyl nitrate
  2. personal area network
pans in the Bible

a vessel of metal or earthenware used in culinary operations; a cooking-pan or frying-pan frequently referred to in the Old Testament (Lev. 2:5; 6:21; Num. 11:8; 1 Sam. 2:14, etc.). The "ash-pans" mentioned in Ex. 27:3 were made of copper, and were used in connection with the altar of burnt-offering. The "iron pan" mentioned in Ezek. 4:3 (marg., "flat plate " or "slice") was probably a mere plate of iron used for baking. The "fire-pans" of Ex. 27:3 were fire-shovels used for taking up coals. The same Hebrew word is rendered "snuff-dishes" (25:38; 37:23) and "censers" (Lev. 10:1; 16:12; Num. 4:14, etc.). These were probably simply metal vessels employed for carrying burning embers from the brazen altar to the altar of incense. The "frying-pan" mentioned in Lev. 2:7; 7:9 was a pot for boiling.

Idioms and Phrases with pans

pan

In addition to the idiom beginning with
pan
also see: