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to pan

to pan

3 7.7
To wash sand or gravel in a shallow dish to find gold
  • verb
  • /pæn/
  • Specialized
translation icon : buscar oro lavando la grava
  • He could pan for gold, he could scout for the Army or for wagon trains, and he even knew a little about farming, although he kept that to himself.
  • pan for gold

Examples

  • He is too sick to pan for gold.

    Fiction book (1998)
  • During our trip to the mountains, we decided to pan for gold in the local creek.

  • We're gonna pan for gold.

  • Well, I could pan for gold or something.

  • A place for parents to pan for gold, and bond with their children.

  • I rode all the way out here to pan for gold and my horse up and died on me.

  • Doug walked back to the central square, past running water where visitors could pan for gold.

    Fiction book (1994)
  • Amid hundreds of costumed participants, visit a tent city and working blacksmiths, take in a melodrama at The Eagle Theatre, and encourage the kids to pan for gold.

    Blog text (3)
  • You can pan for gold in the river to see if you can find any valuable nuggets.

  • Many people still pan for gold as a hobby, hoping to strike it rich.

Idioms

flash in the pan
  • Informal
4 7.2

A person or thing that has a short time of success and then people forget them

1 9.9

Completely ruined or wasted and no longer useful

Phrasal Verbs

to pan out
  • Informal
48 5.3

To end up in a good or successful way

to pan off
  • Specialized
9.5

To wash sand or gravel in a shallow dish to find small pieces of gold

to pan out
  • Specialized
8.5

To wash small stones in a pan to find pieces of gold

Compounds

23 1.0

A shallow pan with a long handle for cooking food in hot oil

An area in New York where many popular songwriters and music publishers worked in the early 1900s

2 8.4

A Chinese dish with chicken and mushrooms in a light sauce

Peter Pan
  • Informal
2 6.2

A man who acts like a boy and avoids adult duties

A round baking pan with sides that open and a latch to release cakes easily

1 3.0

A shallow pan placed under a machine like a fridge to catch dripping liquid

A flat collar with rounded ends that meet at the front and appears on women's and children's clothing

1 2.4

A shallow pan with a long handle and slanted sides for cooking omelets

1 4.5

A thin sauce made from the juices left in a pan after cooking meat

A wide shallow metal container for making food on a stove

4.6

A shallow pan placed under roasting meat to catch fat and juices

A pan that plugs in and cooks food by baking or grilling

A pan with a built-in electric heater that cooks food without a stove

6.9

A metal tray under a stove that holds ashes so you can remove them

9.8

Support for political, cultural, and economic unity across Europe

A political movement to unite all people who speak German into one country

Pan paniscus
  • Specialized
9.8

A large ape like a chimpanzee that lives in forests of the Congo Basin, often called the bonobo

Pan troglodytes
  • Specialized
7.1

A large wild ape that lives in African forests and uses simple tools

A kind of chimpanzee that lives in east-central Africa and has long hair

9.9

A type of chimpanzee from central Africa with a black face

Pan troglodytes verus
  • Specialized
9.9

A western African chimpanzee with a pale face that is endangered

A day to celebrate and promote unity among countries in the Americas

7.7

An organization that helped countries in the Americas work together before the Organization of American States

9.8

A shallow baking dish for making small pies

1.3

A deep pot with a lid for cooking food slowly

warming pan
  • Archaic
8.2

A long metal pan with a handle and lid filled with hot coals to warm a bed before sleeping

A pan used to keep food warm before serving

How Thoroughly

to refine
  • Specialized
41 3.9
to process
388 3.0
to sluice
  • Specialized
1 7.4
to cradle
  • Archaic
9.8
to pan
  • Specialized
3 7.7

Surface Forms

pan infinitive
panned past
panned past participle
panning present participle
pans third person singular

Etymology

Pan (to search for gold) comes straight from the kitchen pan — miners used a shallow dish to wash gravel and find gold. So to pan for gold is simply to wash material in a pan to separate valuable bits.