What does "scope" mean?
Scope: Room or opportunity for free outlook or aim; space for action; amplitude of opportunity; free course or vent; liberty; range of view; intent, or action. Give him line and scope. Shak. In the fate and fortunes of the human race, scope is given to the operation of laws which man must always fail to discern the reasons of. I. Taylor. Excuse me if I have given too much scope to the reflections which have arisen in my mind. Burke. An intellectual cultivation of no moderate depth or scope. Hawthorne.
Additional senses
- 2.Extended area. [Obs.] "The scopes of land granted to the first adventurers." Sir J. Davies.
- 3.Length; extent; sweep; as, scope of cable. v. t. To look at for the purpose of evaluation; usu with out; as, to scope out the area as a camping site.
Sources
- Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913 edition (public domain, via GCIDE / Project Gutenberg).
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- Published: 2026-07-17T00:00:00-07:00 · Modified: 2026-07-17T00:00:00-07:00