Scopes
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Related to Scopes: Scopes trial, Urban Legends
scope 1
(skōp)n.
1. The range of one's perceptions, thoughts, or actions: broaden one's scope by reading.
2. The opportunity or possibility to function or be active: gave her imagination broad scope. See Synonyms at room.
3. The extent of a given activity or subject that is involved, treated, or relevant: the scope of the debate. See Synonyms at range.
4. The length or sweep of a mooring cable.
5. Linguistics The range over a part of a sentence or discourse that a quantifier has an effect on.
scope 2
(skōp)n. Informal
A viewing instrument such as a periscope, microscope, or telescope.
tr.v. scoped, scop·ing, scopes
Phrasal Verb: 1. To examine or investigate, especially visually: scoped the landscape for signs of wildlife.
2. To examine using an optical instrument such as a telescope or an endoscope: scoped the stars around Orion; scoped the patient's esophagus.
scope out
1. To make a preliminary inspection or investigation of: "That summer ... she'd scoped out a big estate auction in Bennington and spotted a beautiful burnt-umber and deep-blue Chinese rug" (Janna Malamud Smith).
2. To seek by inspecting various possibilities: "Some of the islanders are expert fishing guides, eagerly showing up at the airport for the weekly flight from Honolulu to scope out clients" (Paul Theroux).
[From -scope (as in microscope periscope, etc.). Verb, probably from noun (perhaps influenced by scope).]
Scopes
(skōps), John Thomas 1900-1970. American teacher who violated a state law by teaching the theory of evolution in a Tennessee high school. His trial (July 1925) was a highly publicized confrontation between defense attorney Clarence Darrow and prosecution counsel William Jennings Bryan. Scopes was found guilty and fined a nominal sum, but his conviction was later reversed on technical grounds.
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.
Scopes
(skoʊps)n.
John Thomas, 1901–70, U.S. high-school teacher convicted for teaching the Darwinian theory of evolution.
Random House Kernerman Webster's College Dictionary, © 2010 K Dictionaries Ltd. Copyright 2005, 1997, 1991 by Random House, Inc. All rights reserved.
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Noun | 1. | Scopes - Tennessee highschool teacher who violated a state law by teaching evolution; in a highly publicized trial in 1925 he was prosecuted by William Jennings Bryan and defended by Clarence Darrow (1900-1970) |
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