root about vs scan

root about

verb
  • To search for something in a similar manner. 

  • To rummage; to look for something in a somewhat aimless fashion. 

  • To forage by poking the snout here and there. 

scan

verb
  • To inspect, analyse or go over, often to find something. 

  • To examine sequentially, carefully, or critically; to scrutinize; to behold closely. 

  • To read with an electronic device. 

  • To look about for; to look over quickly. 

  • To conform to a metrical structure. 

  • To perform lexical analysis; to tokenize. 

  • To read or mark so as to show a specific metre. 

  • To create an image of something with the use of a scanner. 

noun
  • Close investigation. 

  • An instance of scanning. 

  • The result or output of a scanning process. 

How often have the words root about and scan occurred in a corpus of books? (source: Google Ngram Viewer )