[+ obj] 1 : to examine (people or things) in order to decide if they are suitable for a particular purpose
▪ A committee will screen candidates for the job, but the final hiring decision will be made by Ms. Brown. ▪ someone who screens luggage at the airport [=someone who examines the luggage of airplane passengers in order to make sure that nothing dangerous is brought onto an airplane] ▪ We screen the kids' music so that we can approve what they listen to. ▪ He usually screens his (telephone/phone) calls. [=he usually lets his answering machine answer his phone so that he can hear who is calling before he decides to talk to whoever it is] 2 a : to do a test on (someone) to find out if that person has or is likely to develop a disease — usually + for ▪ All blood donors are screened for AIDS. ▪ She was screened for breast cancer.
b : to do a test on (a person's blood, urine, etc.) to find out if the person has been using an illegal substance — usually + for ▪ All athletes will be screened for performance-enhancing drugs prior to the events. 3 : to show (a movie, television show, etc.) to the public on a screen
▪ We'll be screening his latest film in two weeks. 4 : to hide, protect, cover, or block (someone or something) with a screen
▪ I was screened by the cars so no one saw me. ▪ The altar was screened. ▪ We planted a row of shrubs to screen our backyard from the neighbors. ▪ The goalie was screened on that play. [=players blocked the goalie from seeing the puck] ▪ a screened porch [=a porch that has walls made of screens] — often used figuratively ▪ We try to screen our children from the violence on TV.