Meaning & use
screener
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Meanings
nouncountable
A person or thing that checks people or things for a particular disease, problem, or quality.
Grammar: Countable: use a/an or a plural: a screener, two screeners. Often followed by for: a screener for diabetes.
Patterns
- a screener for something
- a screener at a place
- work as a screener
The clinic uses a simple questionnaire as a screener for depression.
She works as a screener at the airport, checking bags for dangerous items.
A hearing screener can spot problems in babies before they learn to talk.
nouncountableinformal
A DVD or digital copy of a film or TV show sent to critics or judges before it is released to the public.
Grammar: Countable and usually singular in this sense: a screener, the screener. Often used in the phrase 'a screener copy'.
Patterns
- a screener of a film
- receive a screener
- send out screeners
Film critics often get a screener so they can review the movie at home.
The awards committee watched a screener of the documentary before voting.
Someone leaked a screener online weeks before the official release.
nouncountablebusiness
A company or service that checks someone's background, finances, or identity before they are hired or allowed to do something.
Grammar: Countable; often used in business contexts: a background screener, a tenant screener.
Patterns
- a background screener
- a tenant screener
- hire a screener
The landlord paid a tenant screener to check the applicants' credit history.
Many companies use an outside screener to verify job candidates' qualifications.
The bank's screener flagged the account because of unusual activity.
Word forms
| plural | screeners |
|---|
Common combinations
- background screener
- The employer hired a background screener to look into each candidate's past.
- health screener
- A health screener visited the school to test the children's eyesight.
- screener copy
- The screener copy had a warning message that appeared every ten minutes.
- work as a screener
- He works as a screener at the airport, checking passengers and their bags.
- a screener for
- The doctor used a simple blood test as a screener for diabetes.
Synonyms and how they differ
- screening
- Screening is the process or test itself, while a screener is the person or thing that does the checking.
- checker
- Checker is a general word for someone who checks things; screener is more specific and often used for health or security checks.
- assessor
- Assessor is used for someone who judges quality or performance, not usually for health or security checks.
Word family
Commonly confused: screener or screen? screener or screening?
screener vs screen
Screen can be a noun (the flat surface you look at) or a verb (to check or hide). Screener is only a noun for the person or thing that does the checking.
screener vs screening
Screening is the test or the event; a screener is the person or device that carries it out.
Practice
The hospital hired a new ______ to check patients for early signs of heart disease.
Choose one answer.
We need a noun for a person who does the checking, so 'screener' is correct. 'Screen' is a verb or a different noun (the flat surface), 'screening' is the process, and 'screened' is a past verb form.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “screener”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.