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
- unscavenged adjective
Etymology
Origin of scavenge
First recorded in 1635–45; back formation from scavenger
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.
At one feeding center, an elderly volunteer told us he spends hours every day scavenging for firewood.
From Salon
That scavenging behavior may also increase their risk of catching and spreading the virus across Antarctica, according to the researchers.
From Science Daily
Paulo found an unemployed gospel singer who made a living scavenging Latin America's largest trash dump.
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
The authors argue that scavenging was not an occasional fallback, but a core survival strategy repeated throughout human evolutionary history.
From Science Daily
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.
