pan

/pæn/

/pæn/

Other forms: pans; panned; panning; paned

A pan can be a cooking utensil, a negative opinion, or a sweeping camera shot. You cook eggs in a pan, but as a film critic you might pan a new docudrama for poor editing and overuse of pan shots.

A pan is a shallow metal object that you use to cook food. It can also be a verb indicating you're expressing a negative view. To pan a performance, book, or movie is to say that you think it stunk. If all the critics pan something, sales usually go down, but not always. To pan a film or video camera is to move it from left to right or right to left in a smooth motion.

Definitions of pan

1. noun

   shallow container made of metal
   types:

   bain-marie

   a large pan that is filled with hot water; smaller pans containing food can be set in the larger pan to keep food warm or to cook food slowly

   dishpan

   large pan for washing dishes

   drip pan

   pan under a refrigerator for collecting liquid waste

   pannikin

   a small pan or cup (usually of tin)

   warming pan

   a long-handled covered pan holding live coals to warm a bed

   type of:

   container

   any object that can be used to hold things (especially a large metal boxlike object of standardized dimensions that can be loaded from one form of transport to another)
2. noun

   cooking utensil consisting of a wide metal vessel
   synonyms: cooking pan

   types:

   drip pan, dripping pan

   pan for catching drippings under roasting meat

   frying pan, frypan, skillet

   a pan used for frying foods

   omelet pan, omelette pan

   pan for cooking omelets

   patty-pan

   a pan for cooking patties or pasties

   roaster

   a special cooking pan for roasting

   saucepan

   a deep pan with a handle; used for stewing or boiling

   wok

   pan with a convex bottom; used for frying in Chinese cooking

   double boiler, double saucepan

   two saucepans, one fitting inside the other

   electric frying pan

   a frying pan heated by electricity

   spider

   a skillet made of cast iron

   stewing pan, stewpan

   a saucepan used for stewing

   type of:

   cooking utensil, cookware

   a kitchen utensil made of material that does not melt easily; used for cooking
3. verb

   wash dirt in a pan to separate out the precious minerals
   synonyms: pan off, pan out

   type of:

   wash

   separate dirt or gravel from (precious minerals)
4. verb

   express a totally negative opinion of
   “The critics panned the performance”

   synonyms: tear apart, trash

   type of:

   belittle, disparage, pick at

   express a negative opinion of
5. verb

   make a sweeping movement
   “The camera panned across the room”

   type of:

   go, locomote, move, travel

   change location; move, travel, or proceed, also metaphorically