scourings

[ skouuhr-ingz, skou-er- ]

See synonyms for scourings on Thesaurus.com

noun(used with a plural verb)

dirt or refuse removed by scouring.
refuse removed from grain.

Origin of scourings

First recorded in 1580–90; see origin at scour¹, -ing¹, -s³

Words Nearby scourings

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

How to use scourings in a sentence

Whence come these churchyard scourings, these skulls and crossbones set up on end?
Joan of the Sword Hand | S(amuel) R(utherford) Crockett
Most of the gilding was worn off by the frequent scourings which it had undergone beneath the hands of a black slave.
Grandfather's Chair | Nathaniel Hawthorne
But it is by him and men like him, and not by the scourings of the galleys, that we can get to understand the spirit of the time.
Lectures on the French Revolution | John Emerich Edward Dalberg-Acton
So when the cream is off, the rest of the clergy are plainly but skim milk, the scourings of the seminaries.
En Route | J.-K. (Joris-Karl) Huysmans
Easy enough to find one of the scourings of Troyes—perhaps an innocent girl once, before she knew him!
In the Day of Adversity | John Bloundelle-Burton

British Dictionary definitions for scourings

scourings

/ (ˈskaʊərɪŋz) /

pl n

the residue left after cleaning grain
residue that remains after scouring

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

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