scoured

American  

[skou^uhrd, skou-erd] / skaʊərd, ˈskaʊ ərd /

adjective

1. cleansed or polished by hard rubbing, as with a rough or abrasive material.

   American society, through advertising, associates the scent of lemon with a freshly scoured kitchen.

2. cleared or dug out, as by the force of water, glaciers, etc..

   Muskeget Channel, located between Martha's Vineyard and Nantucket, is a deeply scoured channel with strong tidal currents.

3. (of cotton, wool, etc.) cleaned or made free of impurities, debris, etc., by or as if by washing.

   When dried, the scoured wool is usually carded and combed before the process of spinning.

4. cleared or made free of anything undesirable; cleansed.

   It is from a scoured soul and a sober heart that prayer is engaged.

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verb

1. the simple past tense and past participle of scour.

Etymology

Origin of scoured

scour ¹ ( def. ) + -ed ² ( def. )

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

scoured

In recent weeks, we scoured hundreds of articles from the Journal’s archives to trace that history—and show how the events of one 2001 morning continue to reverberate a quarter-century later.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 10, 2026

She scoured the pages of Sontag’s “On Photography” to no avail.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 16, 2026

At 96, she scoured the Huntington Library gardens for a commissioned installation she called a “full-circle” project.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 27, 2026

Rescuers scoured flooded parts of China for survivors on Wednesday after storms killed 17 people and caused dozens of rivers to overflow and a reservoir dam to burst, with officials warning of more rain.

From Barron's ● Jul. 8, 2026

Yummy scoured the backstretch for trainers willing to put the Cougar on their horses.

From "Seabiscuit: An American Legend" by Laura Hillenbrand