Pan

/pæn/

Meaning & Definition

noun

A shallow, flat-bottomed container used for cooking or baking.

She placed the cake batter in the round pan before putting it in the oven.

A wide, shallow dish or bowl, often used to hold food or for serving.

The chef used a large pan to serve the pasta to the guests.

A metal container, with or without a handle, for holding and cooking food.

Don't forget to flip the steak in the frying pan.

verb

To move a camera horizontally to follow a subject.

The director instructed the cameraman to pan across the audience during the performance.

To criticize severely; to critique harshly.

The film was panned by critics for its poor storyline.

Middle English pan, from Old English panna.

pan out:

To have a successful outcome.

pan and scan:

A technique to fit a wide screen image into a standard screen size.

pan over:

To move a camera horizontally across a scene.

To criticize heavily.

The film was panned by most critics.

To shoot video with sweeping camera movements.

They decided to pan the shot to include the audience.