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:
Honda earlier this year announced that it would also scrap a forthcoming EV program, which aimed to make three new electric models in Ohio and Canada.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 16, 2026
Saar’s dear friend, artist and jeweler Neil Lane, recalls how she taught him to collage: slowly layering papers with matte medium and, of course, saving every scrap.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 15, 2026
Argentina trailed Egypt 2-0 in the 79th minute before a flurry of three goals in 13 minutes—with Messi in the middle of it all—saw them scrap through once again.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 12, 2026
While McLaren's Lando Norris, Mercedes' George Russell and Red Bull's Max Verstappen staged a frantic place-swapping scrap in the opening laps at Silverstone, Antonelli bided his time before homing in on Hamilton at the front.
From BBC ● Jul. 4, 2026
I pushed away the piece of scrap paper and looked at the note I’d printed.
From Absolutely Almost by Lisa Graff
The government scrapped state salary caps for state-owned equipment maker Naura Technology, allowing the company to lure top talent from foreign rivals.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 24, 2026
The exercise revealed that pre-call prep and post-call debriefings could be automated and that many reports could be scrapped.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 20, 2026
Some 2.2 million aspiring medical students sat for a re-examination under tight security last month after the previous test was scrapped following a question paper leak that triggered widespread outrage.
From Barron's ● Jul. 20, 2026
SpaceX had been set to execute its first launch since the IPO on Thursday, with a Starship take-off scrapped after its launch window opened at 6:45 p.m.
From MarketWatch ● Jul. 17, 2026
Annabeth scrapped a plateful of death-bird bones into the lava.
From "The Sea of Monsters" by Rick Riordan
Burnham is also expected to lay out a number of policies this week, including scrapping a plan to introduce compulsory ID cards and adding funding for financial support for families.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 20, 2026
In turn, Nolan has sacrificed Odysseus himself to serve his own needs, scrapping the character’s prickly personality to Trojan-horse a message about how empires collapse.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 15, 2026
By scrapping discs, PlayStation is positioning itself as the first console-maker to herald an end to physical media.
From Slate ● Jul. 7, 2026
The changes also mean workers will not be able to obtain the note by phone, scrapping a measure brought in due to the Covid-19 pandemic.
From BBC ● Jul. 3, 2026
On Thursday, after I’d finished scrapping, I drove forty miles to the nearest Walmart and bought a pair of women’s jeans and two shirts, both blue.
From "Educated" by Tara Westover
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.
