scrap

¹ American  

[skrap] / skræp /

noun

1. a small piece or portion; fragment: scraps of cloth.

   a scrap of paper;

   scraps of cloth.

2. scraps,

   1. bits or pieces of food, especially of leftover or discarded food.

   2. the remains of animal fat after the oil has been rendered; cracklings.

3. a detached piece of something written or printed.

   scraps of poetry.

4. 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.

5. 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?

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adjective

1. consisting of pieces or fragments.

2. existing in the form of fragments or remnants of use only for reworking, as metal.

3. discarded or left over.

   She was fashioning a toy out of some scrap wood.

verb (used with object)

scrapped, scrapping

1. to break up into pieces for discarding or reworking.

   to scrap old cars.

2. to discard as useless, worthless, or ineffective.

   He urged that we scrap the old method of teaching mathematics.

scrap ² American  

[skrap] / skræp /

noun

1. a fight or quarrel.

   She got into a scrap with her in-laws.

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verb (used without object)

scrapped, scrapping

1. to engage in a fight or quarrel.

scrap ¹ British  

/ skræp /

noun

1. a small piece of something larger; fragment

2. an extract from something written

3. 1. waste material or used articles, esp metal, often collected and reprocessed

   2. ( as modifier )

      scrap iron

4. (plural) pieces of discarded food

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verb

1. to make into scrap

2. to discard as useless

scrap ² British  

/ skræp /

noun

1. a fight or argument

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verb

1. (intr) to quarrel or fight

Other Word Forms

• scrappingly
  adverb

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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

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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.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

scrap scrapped scrapping

Quen was identified in July thanks to a scrap of paper bearing his name that was found with his remains, and DNA samples that matched his relatives.

From Barron's ● Oct. 14, 2026

One U.S. study found that about one-fourth of exported plastic scrap was unusable, and half of that was badly managed.

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

It has called on the UK government to scrap any planned fuel duty rises in January, March and April and to introduce an essential user rebate for coaches, lorries and vans.

From BBC ● Sep. 25, 2026

The scrap of the reference letter left on the floor of my locker.

From "The Brightwood Code" by Monica Hesse

But investigators found no evidence to support the claims, Reuters reported, and the idea was scrapped.

From Salon ● Oct. 16, 2026

Nvidia-backed Firmus Grid scrapped plans for what would have been Australia’s biggest listing in almost 30 years, citing market conditions.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 14, 2026

Leading developer Anthropic called on AI labs to slow down, while OpenAI scrapped the release of its next-generation model over safety concerns.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 7, 2026

She said if the scheme – run by the National Youth Agency – was scrapped, an alternative must be found because "young people are the next generation" of government.

From BBC ● Oct. 5, 2026

They hadn’t scrapped like this in years, since they were boys, and with a sudden sense of relief Moody laughed again even as Trip socked him in the stomach and they toppled onto the floor.

From "Little Fires Everywhere" by Celeste Ng

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

Burnham has already offered "breathing space" - as he calls it – on the cost of living by temporarily scrapping VAT on electricity bills from October.

From BBC ● Sep. 10, 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

I have spent a vexing half hour scrapping with Fräulein Engel over the pen nib, which I swear I did not bend on purpose the first time.

From "Code Name Verity" by Elizabeth Wein

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Related Words

• chunk
• fragment
• grain
• hunk
• lump
• morsel
• shred
• sliver
• snippet
• speck

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