scavenger

American  

[skav-in-jer] / ˈskæv ɪn dʒər /

noun

1. an animal or other organism that feeds on dead organic matter.

2. a person who searches through and collects items from discarded material.

3. a street cleaner.

4. Chemistry. a chemical that consumes or renders inactive the impurities in a mixture.

---

scavenger British  

/ ˈskævɪndʒə /

noun

1. a person who collects things discarded by others

2. any animal that feeds on decaying organic matter, esp on refuse

3. a substance added to a chemical reaction or mixture to counteract the effect of impurities

4. a person employed to clean the streets

---

scavenger Scientific  

/ skăv′ən-jər /

1. An animal that feeds on dead organisms, especially a carnivorous animal that eats dead animals rather than or in addition to hunting live prey. Vultures, hyenas, and wolves are scavengers.

---

Other Word Forms

• scavengery noun

Etymology

Origin of scavenger

1520–30; earlier scavager < Anglo-French scawageour, equivalent to ( e ) scawage inspection ( escaw ( er ) to inspect < Middle Dutch schauwen to look at (cognate with show ) + -age -age ) + -eour -or ²

Example Sentences

In total, the team described 24 new species across 10 amphipod families, including both predators and scavengers.

From Science Daily

This behavior made sense, since wolves create reliable feeding opportunities for scavengers.

From Science Daily

Finding the best pint in a given city has become a digital scavenger hunt.

From The Wall Street Journal

The birds noisily fight over their stolen feast, a potential tip-off to other scavengers.

From Barron's

We’d leave each other notes and scavenger hunt clues and other random stuff.

From Literature