pan

I UK [pæn] / US noun [countable]
Word forms "pan":
singular pan plural pans
**

1) a round metal container used for cooking, with a handle and usually a lid. A saucepan has tall sides and a frying pan is wider with shorter sides and usually no lid

Heat the oil in a pan and cook the onion over a gentle heat.

pots and pans:

There was plenty of space in the kitchen for storing pots and pans.

a) the contents of a pan, or the amount that a pan holds

a pan of boiling water

b) American a metal container used for baking. The British word is tin

a cake pan

••

See:

bedpan, dustpan

2) British the part of a toilet that is shaped like a bowl and has water at the bottom. The American word is bowl.

3) a container shaped like a dish on a set of scales used for holding things you want to weigh

4) a large flat bowl used for separating gold from other substances in the ground using water

•

(go) down the pan — British

informal to fail, or to be spoiled

All our plans for a holiday have gone down the pan.

See:

flash II

II UK [pæn] / US verb
Word forms "pan":
present tense I/you/we/they pan he/she/it pans present participle panning past tense panned past participle panned

1) [intransitive/transitive] if a camera pans, or if you pan it, it moves sideways slowly to film something else or to follow something that is moving

2) [transitive] informal to criticize someone or something very strongly

3) [intransitive] to try to find small pieces of gold among stones by washing the stones in a pan

Phrasal verbs:

- pan out