# scanning vs spanning

> English confusable word pair

## The two words

### scanning
*verb · IPA /ˈskænɪŋ/ · frequency rank #10,931*
present participle and gerund of scan

### spanning
*noun · frequency rank #14,636*
The process by which something is spanned.

## Source
Compiled from Wiktionary via kaikki.org (CC BY-SA). Data vintage: 2026-05-06.
Canonical page: https://plainspell.com/en/vs/scanning-vs-spanning