scrape
Americanverb (used with object)
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scrapes,
present (3rd person singular)
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scraped,
past participle, past
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scraping
present participle
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to deprive of or free from an outer layer, adhering matter, etc., or to smooth by drawing or rubbing something, especially a sharp or rough instrument, over the surface.
to scrape a table to remove paint and varnish.
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to remove (an outer layer, adhering matter, etc.) in this way.
to scrape the paint and varnish from a table.
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to scratch, injure, or mar the surface of in this way.
to scrape one's arm on a rough wall.
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to produce by scraping.
He scraped his initials on the rock.
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to collect or do by or as if by scraping; do or gather laboriously or with difficulty (usually followed by up ortogether ).
They managed to scrape together a football team.
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to rub harshly on or across (something).
Don't scrape the floor with your boots!
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to draw or rub (a thing) roughly across something.
Scrape your shoes on the doormat before you come in.
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to level (an unpaved road) with a grader.
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Digital Technology. to extract (data) from a digital source for automated replication, formatting, or manipulation by a computer program, as in data mining or website data analysis.
This project scrapes comments on online forums for linguistic research.
We can scrape older data from obsolete systems with a very simple interface.
verb (used without object)
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scrapes,
present (3rd person singular)
-
scraped,
past participle, past
-
scraping
present participle
-
to scrape something.
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to rub against something gratingly.
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to produce a grating and unmusical tone from a string instrument.
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to draw one's foot back noisily along the ground in making a bow.
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to manage or get by with difficulty or with only the barest margin.
I barely scraped through on the test.
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to economize or save by attention to even the slightest amounts.
By careful scraping they managed to survive.
noun
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scrapes
plural
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an act or instance of scraping.
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a drawing back of the foot noisily along the ground in making a bow.
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a harsh, shrill, or scratching sound made by scraping.
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a scraped place.
a scrape on one's elbow.
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an embarrassing or distressing situation; predicament.
He is always in some kind of a scrape.
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a difference of opinion, fight, or quarrel; scrap.
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Digital Technology.
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the process of extracting data from a digital source for automated replication, formatting, or manipulation by a computer program, as in data mining or website data analysis.
How long will the scrape take to complete?
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the product of this process.
The scrape maliciously copied private content to manipulate search engine rankings.
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verb
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to move (a rough or sharp object) across (a surface), esp to smooth or clean
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(tr; often foll by away or off) to remove (a layer) by rubbing
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to produce a harsh or grating sound by rubbing against (an instrument, surface, etc)
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(tr) to injure or damage by rough contact
to scrape one's knee
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(intr) to be very economical or sparing in the use (of) (esp in the phrase scrimp and scrape )
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(intr) to draw the foot backwards in making a bow
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(tr) to finish (a surface) by use of a scraper
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(tr) to make (a bearing, etc) fit by scraping
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to behave with excessive humility
noun
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the act of scraping
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a scraped place
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a harsh or grating sound
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informal an awkward or embarrassing predicament
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informal a conflict or struggle
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
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scrapesimple
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scrapessimple
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have scrapedperfect
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has scrapedperfect
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am scrapingprogressive
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are scrapingprogressive
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is scrapingprogressive
-
have been scrapingperfect progressive
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has been scrapingperfect progressive
Past
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scrapedsimple
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had scrapedperfect
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was scrapingprogressive
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were scrapingprogressive
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had been scrapingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of scrape
First recorded in 1350–1400; Middle English verb scrapen, from Old Norse skrapa (replacing Middle English shrapen Old English scrapian “to scratch”); cognate with Old Norse skrapa; noun derivative of the verb
Explanation
To scrape something is to scratch or remove its surface. If you scrape your knee, you'll probably need a Band Aid. You can scrape the toe of your favorite boots, or scrape your arm on a branch. This might cause a scrape on your skin or your shoe, a mark that shows. There is also a kind of scrape you can hear, like the scrape of a chair on a floor, and the kind of scrape, or awkward situation, you suddenly find yourself in. People also scrape things together, or gather up as much as they can find.
Vocabulary lists containing scrape
"American Names"
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Shiloh
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
See Examples For:
Some thicker icebergs that break from tidewater glaciers without floating ice shelf extensions can scrape along the seabed or become grounded inside a fjord.
From Science Daily ● Sep. 4, 2026
Dyslexic, Harry dropped out of school in the ninth grade, joined the Navy, and served two weeks’ military imprisonment before returning to New York City to work odd jobs and scrape by.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 7, 2026
With the scrape Debbie and Judith find themselves in, a beach holiday is out of the question.
From Salon ● Jul. 26, 2026
Instead, these would-be business owners scrape together financing on a deal-by-deal basis.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 17, 2026
As Juanita used her fingers to scrape back Pita’s hair and resecure its braid, I thought about where our father might be now.
From "Summer of the Mariposas" by Guadalupe García McCall
Hidden in the scrapes, this little tern chick is camouflaged - and vulnerable - on a Norfolk beach.
From BBC ● Jul. 10, 2026
Instead of using soap or chemicals, it physically scrapes away dirt and marks from surfaces.
From Science Daily ● Apr. 18, 2026
Providers applied skin substitutes to minor scrapes and bruises—at an average cost of $121,501 per patient and $230,103 for those treated at home.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Apr. 9, 2026
How can they keep a low enough profile so that the authorities won’t be summoned when her brother Junior is getting into scrapes at school?
From Los Angeles Times ● Mar. 17, 2026
She wasn’t a nurse, although she’d gotten more than enough experience helping the matrons tape up the other kids’ scrapes and bruises.
From "Dactyl Hill Squad" by Daniel José Older
By that point, USC’s offense had piled up almost 200 yards, while Louisiana had scraped together just 18.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 13, 2026
The tool includes a database of over 70 billion images, many of which were scraped from public internet sources including social media.
From BBC ● Sep. 5, 2026
In the wake of the Global Financial Crisis, her characters scraped together jobs to support passion projects that were overwrought and beyond their grasp.
From Salon ● Aug. 30, 2026
“But we’ve barely scraped the surface in terms of understanding.”
From Slate ● Aug. 26, 2026
Macon stood so quickly, his chair scraped the floor.
From "Caterpillar Summer" by Gillian McDunn
Many creators oppose AI because it could replace humans and was built using the unauthorized scraping of creative works used to train generative AI video and image models.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 29, 2026
Kim Sun-hee, 70, described them as "like scraping cement, or even ghost-like noises. It was really frightening".
From Barron's ● Aug. 21, 2026
Rank-and-file in the UK-based Netball Super League are scraping into five figures and often working second jobs, although full-time marquee players fare much better.
From BBC ● Jul. 23, 2026
Process for 1 to 2 minutes, scraping down the sides as needed, until smooth, airy and thick enough to hold its shape.
From Salon ● Jul. 20, 2026
After a few moments he heard a scraping above him and saw the faint reflection of the golden ball.
From "The Book of Three" by Lloyd Alexander
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
