scour
1to remove dirt, grease, etc., from or to cleanse or polish by hard rubbing, as with a rough or abrasive material: to scour pots and pans.
to remove (dirt, grease, etc.) from something by hard rubbing: to scour grease from pots and pans.
to clear or dig out (a channel, drain, etc.) as by the force of water, by removing debris, etc.
to purge thoroughly, as an animal.
to clear or rid of what is undesirable: to scour the nation of spies.
to remove by or as if by cleansing; get rid of.
to clean or rid of debris, impurities, etc., by or as if by washing, as cotton or wool.
Metallurgy. (of the contents of a blast furnace) to rub against and corrode (the refractory lining).
to rub a surface in order to cleanse or polish it.
to remove dirt, grease, etc.
to become clean and shiny.
to be capable of being cleaned by rubbing: The roasting pan scours easily.
(of a plow, cultivator, etc.) to pass through the ground without soil clinging to the blade.
(of a plow, shovel, etc.) to become polished from use.
the act of scouring.
the place scoured.
an apparatus or material used in scouring; scourer: Sand is a good scour.
the erosive force of moving water, as in a river or sea.
Usually scours. (used with a singular or plural verb)Veterinary Pathology. diarrhea in horses and cattle caused by intestinal infection.
Origin of scour
1Other words for scour
Words Nearby scour
Other definitions for scour (2 of 2)
to range over, as in a search: They scoured the countryside for the lost child.
to run or pass quickly over or along.
to range about, as in search of something.
to move rapidly or energetically.
Origin of scour
2Other words for scour
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024
How to use scour in a sentence
Donald Rabin had scoured train after train in Chicago for four hours.
‘FLUTE EMERGENCY’: A musician forgot his $22,000 instrument on a Chicago train. A homeless man found it. | Andrea Salcedo | February 5, 2021 | Washington PostShe scoured literature, art, philosophy and psychology to describe how society often attaches a moral dimension to illness.
The virus caused more than a pandemic. It set us all ablaze. | Philip Kennicott | February 5, 2021 | Washington PostFamilies have spent hours on the hotlines, scoured appointments on platforms like the ticket sales site Eventbrite, and posted desperately on local news sites like Patch and Nextdoor.
People are fed up with broken vaccine appointment tools — so they’re building their own | Tanya Basu | February 1, 2021 | MIT Technology ReviewThat said, the model still predicts some snow in the storm’s initial phase early Sunday before the cold air is scoured out and precipitation changes to a wintry mix and rain, not unlike the storm system Monday night.
Washington receives first measurable snow in 372 days, with another threat looming Sunday | Jason Samenow, Wes Junker | January 26, 2021 | Washington PostLately, though, “Polly thought her mind was a river, constantly scouring and pooling, constantly disappearing, filling with details that glinted and vanished.”
In ‘The Center of Everything,’ a woman with a brain injury tries to make sense of her thoughts — and her past | Ellen Akins | January 20, 2021 | Washington Post
A delightful cast battles over a will and a stolen painting as a horde of pseudo-Nazis scour the mountains for fugitives.
‘The Grand Budapest Hotel’ Review: Wes Anderson’s Best Ever Is a Whimsical Crime Caper | Nico Hines | February 6, 2014 | THE DAILY BEASTImmediately after the attack, Philip used his searchlights to scour the ocean for survivors to rescue.
The Grand Old Duke of Edinburgh: Why Everybody Loves Phil | Tom Sykes | November 23, 2012 | THE DAILY BEASTEvery day, the two men, part of a 25-person outreach force, scour the streets looking for people everyone else wants to ignore.
Advocates Reached Out to Ronald Poppo Before He Was Face-Eating Victim | Aram Roston | June 4, 2012 | THE DAILY BEASTImmediately after the attack, Philip used his searchlights to scour the ocean for survivors.
Geophysical Research Letters: Bottom scour observed under Hurricane Ivan.
And it seems likely that the King loved him all the more because he could cook and scour for his sake.
The Library of Work and Play: Housekeeping | Elizabeth Hale GilmanIt isn't that the floor is not scoured, for you cannot scour dry mud into anything but wet mud.
The Kellys and the O'Kellys | Anthony TrollopeHe sent off the old man to scour the pantry for a supper for me, and then pushed open the door and led me into the room.
The Yeoman Adventurer | George W. GoughBut Felix was thinking about "scour, mop, and dry it," as he looked at the snow-covered patch of land.
Little Folks | VariousCan you not turn for one look in your enemy's face, ere you scour away before him like a herd of frightened deer?
Sarchedon | G. J. (George John) Whyte-Melville
British Dictionary definitions for scour (1 of 2)
/ (skaʊə) /
to clean or polish (a surface) by washing and rubbing, as with an abrasive cloth
to remove dirt from or have the dirt removed from
(tr) to clear (a channel) by the force of water; flush
(tr) to remove by or as if by rubbing
(intr) (of livestock, esp cattle) to have diarrhoea
(tr) to cause (livestock) to purge their bowels
(tr) to wash (wool) to remove wax, suint, and other impurities
the act of scouring
the place scoured, esp by running water
something that scours, such as a cleansing agent
(often plural) prolonged diarrhoea in livestock, esp cattle
Origin of scour
1Derived forms of scour
- scourer, noun
British Dictionary definitions for scour (2 of 2)
/ (skaʊə) /
to range over (territory), as in making a search
to move swiftly or energetically over (territory)
Origin of scour
2Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012
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