scavenge
Americanverb (used with object)
-
to take or gather (something usable) from discarded material.
-
to cleanse of filth, as a street.
-
to expel burnt gases from (the cylinder of an internal-combustion engine).
-
Metallurgy. to purify (molten metal) by introducing a substance that will combine chemically with impurities.
verb (used without object)
-
to act as a scavenger.
-
(of an engine or cylinder) to become scavenged of burnt gases.
-
to search, especially for food.
verb
-
to search for (anything usable) among discarded material
-
(tr) to purify (a molten metal) by bubbling a suitable gas through it. The gas may be inert or may react with the impurities
-
to clean up filth from (streets, etc)
-
chem to act as a scavenger for (atoms, molecules, ions, radicals, etc)
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
-
scavengesimple
-
scavengessimple
-
have scavengedperfect
-
has scavengedperfect
-
am scavengingprogressive
-
are scavengingprogressive
-
is scavengingprogressive
-
have been scavengingperfect progressive
-
has been scavengingperfect progressive
Past
-
scavengedsimple
-
had scavengedperfect
-
was scavengingprogressive
-
were scavengingprogressive
-
had been scavengingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of scavenge
First recorded in 1635–45; back formation from scavenger
Explanation
When you scavenge, you pick through discarded things looking for whatever is salvageable and can be reused. If you're looking for a replacement part for a vintage car, you might scavenge at the dump for a suitable part. If you're a freegan you've embraced the idea of trying to live for free, recycling and reusing what others have discarded, leaving a small footprint on the planet. You’re on the lookout for good places to scavenge, such as the dumpster behind a busy supermarket, where you might find edible food, or the trash bins at clothing stores, where wearable clothing is tossed out. Vultures, hyenas, and other animals that feed on carrion — dead animals — also scavenge.
Vocabulary lists containing scavenge
Gathering Blue
Looking to grow your vocabulary? Check out this interactive, curated word list from our team of English language specialists at Vocabulary.com – one of over 17,000 lists we've built to help learners worldwide!
Salt to the Sea
Interested in learning more words like this one? Our team at Vocabulary.com has got you covered! You can review flashcards, quiz yourself, practice spelling, and more – and it's all completely free to use!
The Invention of Hugo Cabret
Want to remember this word for good? Start your learning journey today with our library of interactive, themed word lists built by the experts at Vocabulary.com – we'll help you make the most of your study time!
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:
As Beck later recalled on the “Relentless” podcast, in the early days he would scavenge for spare parts in junkyards to save money.
From MarketWatch ● Jun. 10, 2026
However, new research shows they also took advantage of opportunities to scavenge.
From Science Daily ● May 5, 2026
The study's findings suggest the birds are doing more than just tracking the hunters: they're using navigation and spatial memory techniques to scavenge with sophistication.
From Barron's ● Mar. 12, 2026
When they aren’t thieving, bald eagles also scavenge from roadkill or help themselves to free food found in human garbage or at the town landfill.
From Slate ● Feb. 21, 2026
For a little while they talked and joked but gradually fell silent, working the rhythm of scavenge, building piles of copper for whoever was rich enough to afford it.
From "Ship Breaker" by Paolo Bacigalupi
That same pigment in your skin also naturally scavenges free radicals in response to damaging environmental pollution from industrial sources and automobile exhaust fumes.
From Science Daily ● Nov. 2, 2023
Oxygen scavenges methane, so there was a rapid disappearance of methane; Earth lost that early methane greenhouse effect.
From Scientific American ● Sep. 26, 2023
The local artist scavenges twigs and bark and reassembles the tree scraps into objects that resemble parts of actual trees.
From Washington Post ● Jan. 27, 2023
Along with books, he scavenges for other memorabilia, like the “Swayze” news-trivia game mentioned in “The Hellfire Club.”
From Los Angeles Times ● May 12, 2021
They are Vorticellæ; and every one of those bells, by the ciliary current on its rim, is scavenging the water - till a tadpole comes by and scavenges it.
From Prose Idylls, New and Old by Kingsley, Charles
In the early 1980s, that included dumpster-diving at Kroger, where we scavenged perfectly good food—fresh mushrooms, wheels of cheese, pineapples—that we couldn’t afford to buy.
From The Wall Street Journal ● May 2, 2026
Specialized occupational therapy tools at the clinic were replaced by scavenged substitutes: buttons, small glasses, pieces of wood or pipe now help patients relearn activities of daily living.
From Salon ● Mar. 29, 2025
Huge lorries dumping directly onto the ground amid a sea of waste, as birds scavenged.
From BBC ● Feb. 25, 2025
A Wyoming archaeological site where people killed or scavenged a Columbian mammoth nearly 13,000 years ago has produced yet another discovery that sheds light on the life of these early inhabitants of North America.
From Science Daily ● Nov. 27, 2024
You could see where the holes in his sole had been patched up with sap and scavenged leather.
From "The Marrow Thieves" by Cherie Dimaline
Some irregular food items such as chicken and pig were also detected in the samples, suggesting that wolves are also scavenging from human waste disposal sites.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 9, 2026
Just like when Swift releases new music and her lyrics are dissected for any hints about her personal life, her legion of fans around the world have been scavenging for clues to her nuptials.
From BBC ● Jul. 1, 2026
Hunting almost certainly began in East Africa, with our ancient ancestors scavenging the kills of other predators.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Apr. 30, 2026
In drought-hit northeastern Kenya, villagers have been forced to drag their dead livestock to distant fields for burning to keep the stench of death and scavenging hyenas away from their homes.
From Barron's ● Jan. 27, 2026
In nests and burrows for a long way around, and wherever any small night creature was hunting or grazing or scavenging, a new and unforgettable fear came into being.
From "The Amber Spyglass" by Philip Pullman
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.
