# panning

Pronunciation: say "PAN-ing" /ˈpænɪŋ/

## Verb

1. Present participle and gerund of pan. — present participle and gerund of pan
   - Simple: Present participle and gerund of pan. Use this form for an action happening now or as the name of the action itself.
   - _The prospectors spent weeks panning the river gravel for flecks of gold._
   - _Critics are panning the director's latest film for its weak story._

## Noun

2. The action of washing gravel, sand, or dirt in a shallow pan to separate out gold or other valuable minerals.
   - Simple: The work of washing dirt or gravel in a shallow pan to find gold.
   - _Decades of panning had left the prospector with calloused hands and a small fortune in gold dust._
   - _She earned a modest living from panning the creek beds each summer._
3. A severe and thorough negative review or criticism, especially of a creative work. *(colloquial)*
   - Simple: Strong, harsh criticism of something like a movie, book, or show.
   - _The play opened to a brutal panning that closed it within a week._
   - _Despite the panning from reviewers, audiences flocked to the film._
4. The action of placing or moving a sound between the left and right channels of a stereo field.
   - Simple: Moving a sound to the left or right between speakers.
   - _Careful panning gave each instrument its own space in the stereo image._
   - _The producer relied on subtle panning to create a sense of movement._
5. The sand, gravel, or other material that has been washed in a pan to separate out gold or minerals.
   - Simple: Dirt, sand, or gravel that has been washed in a pan to look for gold.
   - _She sifted through the panning carefully, hoping for a few grains of gold._
   - _The panning yielded nothing but worthless black sand._

Source: DictionaryAI, https://dictionaryai.com/define/panning (written from Wiktionary data, CC BY-SA 4.0: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/).