scrape
Americanverb (used with object)
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to deprive of or free from an outer layer, adhering matter, etc., or to smooth by drawing or rubbing something, especially a sharp or rough instrument, over the surface.
to scrape a table to remove paint and varnish.
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to remove (an outer layer, adhering matter, etc.) in this way.
to scrape the paint and varnish from a table.
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to scratch, injure, or mar the surface of in this way.
to scrape one's arm on a rough wall.
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to produce by scraping.
He scraped his initials on the rock.
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to collect or do by or as if by scraping; do or gather laboriously or with difficulty (usually followed by up ortogether ).
They managed to scrape together a football team.
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to rub harshly on or across (something).
Don't scrape the floor with your boots!
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to draw or rub (a thing) roughly across something.
Scrape your shoes on the doormat before you come in.
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to level (an unpaved road) with a grader.
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Digital Technology. to extract (data) from a digital source for automated replication, formatting, or manipulation by a computer program, as in data mining or website data analysis.
This project scrapes comments on online forums for linguistic research.
We can scrape older data from obsolete systems with a very simple interface.
verb (used without object)
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to scrape something.
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to rub against something gratingly.
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to produce a grating and unmusical tone from a string instrument.
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to draw one's foot back noisily along the ground in making a bow.
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to manage or get by with difficulty or with only the barest margin.
I barely scraped through on the test.
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to economize or save by attention to even the slightest amounts.
By careful scraping they managed to survive.
noun
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an act or instance of scraping.
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a drawing back of the foot noisily along the ground in making a bow.
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a harsh, shrill, or scratching sound made by scraping.
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a scraped place.
a scrape on one's elbow.
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an embarrassing or distressing situation; predicament.
He is always in some kind of a scrape.
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a difference of opinion, fight, or quarrel; scrap.
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Digital Technology.
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the process of extracting data from a digital source for automated replication, formatting, or manipulation by a computer program, as in data mining or website data analysis.
How long will the scrape take to complete?
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the product of this process.
The scrape maliciously copied private content to manipulate search engine rankings.
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verb
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to move (a rough or sharp object) across (a surface), esp to smooth or clean
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(tr; often foll by away or off) to remove (a layer) by rubbing
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to produce a harsh or grating sound by rubbing against (an instrument, surface, etc)
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(tr) to injure or damage by rough contact
to scrape one's knee
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(intr) to be very economical or sparing in the use (of) (esp in the phrase scrimp and scrape )
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(intr) to draw the foot backwards in making a bow
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(tr) to finish (a surface) by use of a scraper
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(tr) to make (a bearing, etc) fit by scraping
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to behave with excessive humility
noun
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the act of scraping
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a scraped place
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a harsh or grating sound
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informal an awkward or embarrassing predicament
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informal a conflict or struggle
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
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scrapesimple
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scrapessimple
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have scrapedperfect
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has scrapedperfect
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am scrapingprogressive
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are scrapingprogressive
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is scrapingprogressive
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have been scrapingperfect progressive
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has been scrapingperfect progressive
Past
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scrapedsimple
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had scrapedperfect
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was scrapingprogressive
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were scrapingprogressive
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had been scrapingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of scrape
First recorded in 1350–1400; Middle English verb scrapen, from Old Norse skrapa (replacing Middle English shrapen Old English scrapian “to scratch”); cognate with Old Norse skrapa; noun derivative of the verb
Explanation
To scrape something is to scratch or remove its surface. If you scrape your knee, you'll probably need a Band Aid. You can scrape the toe of your favorite boots, or scrape your arm on a branch. This might cause a scrape on your skin or your shoe, a mark that shows. There is also a kind of scrape you can hear, like the scrape of a chair on a floor, and the kind of scrape, or awkward situation, you suddenly find yourself in. People also scrape things together, or gather up as much as they can find.
Vocabulary lists containing scrape
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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:
With the scrape Debbie and Judith find themselves in, a beach holiday is out of the question.
From Salon ● Jul. 26, 2026
These would-be business owners scrape together financing on a deal-by-deal basis.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 17, 2026
And even if he manages to scrape by in committee, Blanche can afford to lose only three Republican votes in the Senate.
From Slate ● Jul. 9, 2026
Would a win over Haiti followed by two defeats be acclaimed as a riotous success if it's enough to scrape into the knockouts as one of the best third-placed teams?
From BBC ● Jun. 21, 2026
I try as carefully and as quietly as possible to scrape the rice kernels that cling like drowning victims to the sides of the bowl.
From "A Step from Heaven" by An Na
Hidden in the scrapes, this little tern chick is camouflaged - and vulnerable - on a Norfolk beach.
From BBC ● Jul. 10, 2026
Instead of using soap or chemicals, it physically scrapes away dirt and marks from surfaces.
From Science Daily ● Apr. 18, 2026
How can they keep a low enough profile so that the authorities won’t be summoned when her brother Junior is getting into scrapes at school?
From Los Angeles Times ● Mar. 17, 2026
Across two hours, Buckley’s Bride shoots, kicks, contorts, dances, scrapes, whizzes, licks and screams, all the while coming no closer to her true self than she was at the start of the film.
From Salon ● Mar. 8, 2026
She mended our clothes torn by the barbed-wire fences, daubed our cuts and scrapes with iodine, and shook her head.
From "Tasting the Sky" by Ibtisam Barakat
In 2023, $1.8trn was given to mitigation, whilst adaptation did not secure even 5% of that – it scraped $65bn globally.
From BBC ● Jul. 29, 2026
A bad year in your 30s was a scraped knee.
From MarketWatch ● Jul. 16, 2026
A former altar boy, he grew up as one of seven children in Nairobi informal settlements, and his parents scraped together enough to send him to school and university, where he studied criminology.
From Barron's ● Jul. 13, 2026
If Broadway has scraped the barrel-bottom of A-list movies to adapt, at least it can mock them: “Titanique” is a frisky and funny spoof of the James Cameron juggernaut about that big ship that sank.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 5, 2026
A few little roots smacked Anya as she went, and she scraped her legs and feet on the bottom of the river a few times, but she mostly continued unobstructed.
From Anya and the Dragon by Sofiya Pasternack
Rank-and-file in the UK-based Netball Super League are scraping into five figures and often working second jobs, although full-time marquee players fare much better.
From BBC ● Jul. 23, 2026
Last week, the government’s own energy statisticians published an explainer on the term, because, at one of America’s most important oil hubs, prices now suggest the tanks may already be scraping bottom.
From MarketWatch ● Jul. 21, 2026
Process for 1 to 2 minutes, scraping down the sides as needed, until smooth, airy and thick enough to hold its shape.
From Salon ● Jul. 20, 2026
And this time, salvaging draws and scraping a point isn’t an option.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 27, 2026
More hammering and scraping at the door interrupted the discussion.
From "Tristan Strong Punches a Hole in the Sky" by Kwame Mbalia
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.
