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| fan [ fan ] |
noun (plural fans) |
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| Definition: |
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1. device for moving air: a device to circulate currents of air, especially one with rotating blades
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2. personal cooling device: a flat disk on a handle or a folding semicircular device for waving back and forth in order to cool the face
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3. something fan-shaped: something in the shape of an open hand-held fan, e.g. the tail of a peacock
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4. agriculture winnowing machine: a machine with a series of revolving blades used to winnow or clean grain
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verb (past and past participle fanned, present participle fan·ning, 3rd person present singular fans) |
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| Definition: |
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1. transitive verb blow on something: to blow a current of air steadily and lightly across or around something, either cooling or agitating it
  A cool breeze fanned the shore.
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2. transitive verb move air using fan: to move air around using a fan
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3. transitive verb make situation tense: to cause emotions to become more intense or a situation to become more volatile
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4. transitive verb agriculture separate grain from chaff: to winnow grain by blowing away the chaff
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5. transitive verb arms fire gun with repeated chopping movement: to fire a gun repeatedly by holding the trigger back and chopping at the hammer with the open hand
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6. transitive and intransitive verb spread across something: to spread out in the shape of an open hand-held fan, or spread something out in this way
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7. transitive verb U.S. baseball hockey strike out: in baseball and hockey, to strike at the ball or puck unsuccessfully
(
slang
)
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| [Pre-12th century. < Latin vannus "device for winnowing grain"] |
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| fan·ner noun |
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