pan out
Also found in: Thesaurus, Medical, Financial, Idioms, Encyclopedia.
pan 1
(păn)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:
a. An open metal dish used to separate gold, other precious metals, or gemstones from gravel or waste by washing.
b. Either of the receptacles on a balance or pair of scales.
c. A vessel used for boiling and evaporating liquids.
3.
a. A basin or depression in the earth, often containing mud or water.
b. A natural or artificial basin used to obtain salt by evaporating brine.
c. 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 to separate out gold, other precious metals, or gemstones.
2. To cook (food) in a pan: panned the fish right after catching it.
3. Informal To criticize or review harshly.
v.intr.
Phrasal Verb: 1. To wash gravel, sand, or other sediment in a pan.
2. To yield gold as a result of washing in a pan.
pan out
To 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.]
pan 2
(pän)n.
Variant of paan.
pan 3
(păn)v. panned, pan·ning, pans
v.intr.
To pivot a movie camera along a horizontal plane in order to follow an object or create a panoramic effect.
v.tr.
To pivot (a movie camera) in a specified direction.
n.
A pivoting movement of a movie camera.
[Short for panorama or panoramic.]
Pan
(păn)n.
Greek Mythology The god of woods, fields, and flocks, having a human torso and head with a goat's legs, horns, and ears.
[Middle English, from Latin Pān, from Greek.]
PAN
n.
peroxyacetyl nitrate
American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright © 2016 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.
pan out
vb
(intr, adverb) informal to work out; turn out; result
Collins English Dictionary – Complete and Unabridged, 12th Edition 2014 © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1994, 1998, 2000, 2003, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2011, 2014
ThesaurusAntonymsRelated WordsSynonymsLegend:
Switch to new thesaurus
| Verb | 1. | pan out - be a success; "The idea panned out" bring home the bacon, deliver the goods, succeed, win, come through - attain success or reach a desired goal; "The enterprise succeeded"; "We succeeded in getting tickets to the show"; "she struggled to overcome her handicap and won" |
| 2. | pan out - wash dirt in a pan to separate out the precious minerals wash - separate dirt or gravel from (precious minerals) |
Based on WordNet 3.0, Farlex clipart collection. © 2003-2012 Princeton University, Farlex Inc.
pan
noun1. Slang. The front surface of the head:
Informal: mug.
2. Informal. A comment expressing fault:
Slang: knock.
pan out
The American Heritage® Roget's Thesaurus. Copyright © 2013, 2014 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.
Translations
w>pan out
vi (inf) → sich entwickeln; it didn’t pan out → es hat nicht geklappt (inf); if it pans out as we hope → wenns so wird, wie wir es uns erhoffen
Collins German Dictionary – Complete and Unabridged 7th Edition 2005. © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1980 © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1997, 1999, 2004, 2005, 2007