scope

¹

[ skohp ]

noun

1. extent or range of view, outlook, application, operation, effectiveness, etc.:

   an investigation of wide scope.

2. space for movement or activity; opportunity for operation:

   to give one's fancy full scope.

   Synonyms: liberty, room, sweep, reach, range, extent, breadth, ambit

3. extent in space; a tract or area.
4. length:

   a scope of cable.

5. aim or purpose.
6. Linguistics, Logic. the range of words or elements of an expression over which a modifier or operator has control:

   In “old men and women,” “old” may either take “men and women” or just “men” in its scope.

7. (used as a short form of microscope, oscilloscope, periscope, radarscope, riflescope, telescopic sight, etc.)

verb (used with object)

, scoped, scop·ing.

1. Slang. to look at, read, or investigate, as in order to evaluate or appreciate.

verb phrase

1. Slang.
   1. to look at or over; examine; check out:

      a rock musician scoping out the audience before going on stage.

   2. to master; figure out:

      By the time we'd scoped out the problem, it was too late.

-scope

²

1. a combining form meaning “instrument for viewing,” used in the formation of compound words:

   telescope.

-scope

¹

combining form

1. indicating an instrument for observing, viewing, or detecting

   microscope

   stethoscope

scope

²

/ skəʊp /

noun

1. opportunity for exercising the faculties or abilities; capacity for action

   plenty of scope for improvement

2. range of view, perception, or grasp; outlook
3. the area covered by an activity, topic, etc; range

   the scope of his thesis was vast

4. nautical slack left in an anchor cable
5. logic linguistics that part of an expression that is governed by a given operator: the scope of the negation in PV– ( q ∧ r ) is –( q ∧ r )
6. informal.
   short for telescope microscope oscilloscope
7. archaic.
   purpose or aim

verb

1. informal.
   to look at or examine carefully

Derived Forms

• -scopic, combining_form:in_adjective

Other Words From

• scopeless adjective

Word History and Origins

Origin of scope¹

First recorded in 1525–35; from Italian scopo, from Greek skopós “aim, mark to shoot at”; akin to skopeîn “to look at” ( -scope )

Origin of scope²

< New Latin -scopium < Greek -skopion, -skopeion, equivalent to skop ( eîn ) to look at (akin to sképtesthai to look, view carefully; skeptic ) + -ion, -eion noun suffix

Word History and Origins

Origin of scope¹

from New Latin -scopium, from Greek -skopion, from skopein to look at

Origin of scope²

C16: from Italian scopo goal, from Latin scopus, from Greek skopos target; related to Greek skopein to watch

Synonym Study

See range.

Example Sentences

“He’s never been able to act much and it would probably be beyond his scope.”

From Los Angeles Times

"That means there's scope to reduce or eliminate it by helping leaders to manage their tempers and improve their impulse control."

From Science Daily

In reality, however, people walk to various destinations daily, so the scope of walking infrastructure is far broader.

From BBC

Importantly, the magnetic interactions produced within these more open structures are weaker than they might otherwise be, giving scientists more scope to tune their precise behaviours.

From Science Daily

He regularly accused his adversaries of exaggerating the scope of killings and other crimes.

From Los Angeles Times

Related Words

• breadth
• capacity
• extension
• opportunity
• outlook
• purview
• sphere