scrap
1 Americannoun
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a small piece or portion; fragment: scraps of cloth.
a scrap of paper;
scraps of cloth.
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scraps,
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bits or pieces of food, especially of leftover or discarded food.
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the remains of animal fat after the oil has been rendered; cracklings.
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a detached piece of something written or printed.
scraps of poetry.
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broken, discarded, or rejected items or parts for use as raw material or in reprocessing, as old metal that can be melted and reworked.
The two of them drive around collecting scrap to sell.
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chips, cuttings, fragments, or other small pieces of raw material removed, cut away, flaked off, etc., in the process of making or manufacturing an item.
Their cutting process is faster, but have you seen the amount of scrap it generates?
adjective
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consisting of pieces or fragments.
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existing in the form of fragments or remnants of use only for reworking, as metal.
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discarded or left over.
She was fashioning a toy out of some scrap wood.
verb (used with object)
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to break up into pieces for discarding or reworking.
to scrap old cars.
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to discard as useless, worthless, or ineffective.
He urged that we scrap the old method of teaching mathematics.
noun
verb (used without object)
noun
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a small piece of something larger; fragment
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an extract from something written
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waste material or used articles, esp metal, often collected and reprocessed
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( as modifier )
scrap iron
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(plural) pieces of discarded food
verb
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to make into scrap
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to discard as useless
noun
verb
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of scrap1
First recorded in 1350–1400; Middle English noun scrappe “scrap of food,” from Old Norse skrap, derivative of skrapa “to scrape ”
Origin of scrap2
First recorded in 1670–80; variant of scrape
Explanation
A scrap is a little leftover bit of something. You might jot down notes on a scrap of paper, or you might toss a scrap of food to your happy dog. A scrap is typically a small item that originally was part of something larger, like a scrap of fabric that was once part of a larger piece. Scrap can also describe something that’s no longer useful. For example, you might take scrap metal to the recycling center. A final meaning of the noun scrap is "fight," as in "I got into a scrap with my brother." Scrap also has a verb form that means "discard." When you scrap your plan to move to the Bahamas, that means you’re abandoning the plan.
Vocabulary lists containing scrap
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:
She wants the government to scrap the 0.5% tax, external Britons pay when they purchase UK shares, pointing out there is no tax when they buy foreign stocks.
From BBC ● Oct. 7, 2026
A century ago, scrap supplied about 30% of America’s copper, close to the 32% recycled globally today.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 7, 2026
OpenAI will scrap the release of its next-generation AI model due to safety worries.
From MarketWatch ● Sep. 29, 2026
The company expects to build plants at the site to process the ore for use in electric arc furnaces with scrap steel to make new steel.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 28, 2026
They spoke to a woman standing at a stall on the corner, her hair pulled back under a scrap of cloth.
From "Impossible Creatures" by Katherine Rundell
Plans had been formally scrapped three years ago, although a year later the then Labour Transport Secretary Ken Skates suggested it was back on the agenda.
From BBC ● Oct. 6, 2026
Matt Cullen has travelled from Cambridge to most of the London games and said there were two main reasons for the slow sales; a price hike and a season-ticket package being scrapped.
From BBC ● Oct. 4, 2026
Earlier this week OpenAI scrapped the release of GPT-6.1 Astra, citing safety concerns.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 1, 2026
It comes one day after the company said it scrapped a new version of Astra because it often ignored instructions.
From Barron's ● Sep. 30, 2026
I found the gang lounging lazily atop the hood of a scrapped ’65 Chevy, basking in the flaring morning sun waiting for me.
From "Kaffir Boy: An Autobiography" by Mark Mathabane
Tinubu, who is seeking a second term, pushed through sweeping economic reforms when he came into office in 2023, including scrapping a major fuel subsidy and floating the naira.
From Barron's ● Oct. 8, 2026
Earlier this week, the company said it was scrapping the planned launch of an AI model, GPT-6.1 Astra over safety concerns.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 1, 2026
The 18-year-old said scrapping it "would be a huge mistake and detrimental to youth voice across the UK," and it should be allowed to evolve within its current format.
From BBC ● Sep. 17, 2026
And most recently, states have been scrapping tax incentives that aim to lure data-center projects to their states, which would cost the builders billions of dollars, the Wall Street Journal reported.
From MarketWatch ● Sep. 10, 2026
"Listen, if scrapbooking don't work out, you can always take up scrapping," I joked to make her feel better.
From "When I Was the Greatest" by Jason Reynolds
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.
