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

Authorities also removed another 2-year-old child from the couple’s custody and scoured a field in Moreno Valley, accompanied by Jake Haro in a jail jumpsuit.

From Los Angeles Times • May 29, 2026

The product details were a minor part of the hundreds of pages that analysts and investors scoured Wednesday afternoon.

From Barron's • May 21, 2026

Claire Hays Montaigne, a new mother and a physician, lived heroically for two years with her cancer as we and her doctors scoured the globe for a breakthrough drug.

From The Wall Street Journal • May 14, 2026

They had lain undiscovered beneath sand dunes but were exposed when they were scoured away by strong winds and high tides.

From BBC • Feb. 20, 2026

Armed only with a pillowcase and a modified five-iron, the guy had methodically scoured the pancake-house property in search of sparkle-tailed water moccasins.

From "Hoot" by Carl Hiaasen