Skim vs. Scan — What's the Difference?

To remove floating matter from (a liquid).

To look at carefully or thoroughly, especially in search of something; examine

To remove (floating matter) from a liquid.

To look over quickly or read hastily

To embezzle (money) by taking a small portion on each transaction

(Computers)To search (stored data) automatically for specific data.

To fail to declare part of (certain income, such as winnings) to avoid tax payment.

To direct a finely focused beam of light or electrons in a systematic pattern over (a surface) in order to reproduce or sense and subsequently transmit an image.

To copy information from (a credit card) as part of a skimming fraud.

To direct a radar beam in a systematic pattern across (a sector of sky) in search of a target.

To coat or cover with a thin layer

To encode (text, for example) in digital format by means of an optical scanner.

(intransitive) To pass lightly; to glide along in an even, smooth course; to glide along near the surface.

(Medicine)To direct x-rays or other energy at (a body or body part) in order to produce an image, as with a CT scanner.

(transitive) To pass near the surface of; to brush the surface of; to glide swiftly along the surface of.

To pass (luggage, for example) through a detector at a security checkpoint in order to detect weapons or banned materials.

To hasten along with superficial attention.

To analyze (verse) into metrical patterns.

To put on a finishing coat of plaster.

To analyze verse into metrical patterns.

(transitive) To throw an object so it bounces on water.

To conform to a metrical pattern

(intransitive) To ricochet.

The act or an instance of scanning

(transitive) To read quickly, skipping some detail.

The action or process of scanning a body or body part.

(transitive) To scrape off; to remove (something) from a surface

An image produced by scanning.

(transitive) To clear (a liquid) from scum or substance floating or lying on it, by means of a utensil that passes just beneath the surface.

(transitive) To examine sequentially, carefully, or critically; to scrutinize; to behold closely.

(transitive) To clear a liquid from (scum or substance floating or lying on it), especially the cream that floats on top of fresh milk.

(transitive) To look about for; to look over quickly.

To steal money from a business before the transaction has been recorded, thus avoiding detection.

To inspect, analyse or go over, often to find something.

To surreptitiously scan a payment card in order to obtain its information for fraudulent purposes.

To perform lexical analysis; to tokenize.

(intransitive) To become coated over.

To create an image of something with the use of a scanner.

(of milk) Having lowered fat content.

To read with an electronic device.

A cursory reading, skipping the details.

To mount by steps; to go through with step by step.

(informal) Skim milk.

To read or mark so as to show a specific metre.

The act of skimming.

(intransitive) To conform to a metrical structure.

That which is skimmed off.

Close investigation.

Theft of money from a business before the transaction has been recorded, thus avoiding detection.

(computing) An instance of scanning.

To clear (a liquid) from scum or substance floating or lying thereon, by means of a utensil that passes just beneath the surface; as, to skim milk; to skim broth.

(computing) The result or output of a scanning process.

To take off by skimming; as, to skim cream.

To mount by steps; to go through with step by step.

To pass near the surface of; to brush the surface of; to glide swiftly along the surface of.

Specifically (Pros.), to go through with, as a verse, marking and distinguishing the feet of which it is composed; to show, in reading, the metrical structure of; to recite metrically.

Fig.: To read or examine superficially and rapidly, in order to cull the principal facts or thoughts; as, to skim a book or a newspaper.

To go over and examine point by point; to examine with care; to look closely at or into; to scrutinize.

To pass lightly; to glide along in an even, smooth course; to glide along near the surface.

To examine quickly, from point to point, in search of something specific; as, to scan an article for mention of a particular person.

To hasten along with superficial attention.

To form an image or an electronic representation of, by passing a beam of light or electrons over, and detecting and recording the reflected or transmitted signal.

To put on the finishing coat of plaster.

The act of scanning; systematic examination of a prescribed region;

Contraction of Skimming and Skimmed.

An image produced by scanning;

A thin layer covering the surface of a liquid;

Examine minutely or intensely;

Reading or glancing through quickly

Examine hastily;

Travel on the surface of water

Make a wide, sweeping search of;

Move or pass swiftly and lightly over the surface of

Conform to a metrical pattern

Examine hastily;

Move a light beam over; in electronics, to reproduce an image

Cause to skip over a surface;

Read metrically;

Coat (a liquid) with a layer

Obtain data from magnetic tapes;

Remove from the surface;

Read superficially

Used of milk and milk products from which the cream has been removed;