scrap

[ skrap ]

/ skræp /

Save This Word!

See synonyms for: scrap / scrapped / scrapping / scraps on Thesaurus.com

noun

a small piece or portion; fragment: a scrap of paper;scraps of cloth.

scraps,

bits or pieces of food, especially of leftover or discarded food.
the remains of animal fat after the oil has been rendered; cracklings.

a detached piece of something written or printed: scraps of poetry.

broken, discarded, or rejected items or parts for use as raw material or in reprocessing, as old metal that can be melted and reworked:The two of them drive around collecting scrap to sell.

chips, cuttings, fragments, or other small pieces of raw material removed, cut away, flaked off, etc., in the process of making or manufacturing an item:Their cutting process is faster, but have you seen the amount of scrap it generates?

adjective

consisting of pieces or fragments.

existing in the form of fragments or remnants of use only for reworking, as metal.

discarded or left over:She was fashioning a toy out of some scrap wood.

verb (used with object), scrapped, scrap·ping.

to break up into pieces for discarding or reworking: to scrap old cars.

to discard as useless, worthless, or ineffective: He urged that we scrap the old method of teaching mathematics.

QUIZ

THINGAMABOB OR THINGUMMY: CAN YOU DISTINGUISH BETWEEN THE US AND UK TERMS IN THIS QUIZ?

Do you know the difference between everyday US and UK terminology? Test yourself with this quiz on words that differ across the Atlantic.

Question 1 of 7

In the UK, COTTON CANDY is more commonly known as…

candystring

candyfloss

candypuff

TAKE THE QUIZ TO FIND OUT

Origin of scrap

First recorded in 1350–1400; Middle English noun scrappe “scrap of food,” from Old Norse skrap, derivative of skrapa “to scrape”

OTHER WORDS FROM scrap

scrap·ping·ly, adverb

Other definitions for scrap (2 of 2)

scrap²

[ skrap ]

/ skræp /

Informal.

noun

a fight or quarrel: She got into a scrap with her in-laws.

verb (used without object), scrapped, scrap·ping.

to engage in a fight or quarrel.

Origin of scrap

First recorded in 1670–80; variant of scrape

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

How to use scrap in a sentence

Another major project, the 600-mile Atlantic Coast Pipeline, was scrapped in July after numerous delays and questions about whether it was needed.
West Virginians Were Promised an Economic Revival. It Hasn’t Happened Yet.|by Ken Ward Jr.|October 29, 2020|ProPublica
Critics of online learning who worry remote instruction is already shortchanging students see even more of an incentive to scrap snow days.
New Jersey school district pledges to protect at least one ritual from pandemic upheaval: The snow day|Kim Bellware|October 29, 2020|Washington Post
As James Temple outlines, California needs to scrap century-old fire management policies to fight its wildfires.
To think your way out of a crisis, look beyond it|Katie McLean|October 21, 2020|MIT Technology Review
The physician argued that scrapping the law during the coronavirus pandemic would be disastrous.
Barrett confirmation hearing day four: ‘We have the votes,’ McConnell says of nomination|Seung Min Kim, Donna Cassata, Karoun Demirjian|October 15, 2020|Washington Post

The replacement material that was supposed to stick to the third target was made incorrectly and had to be scrapped, records show.
Inside the Fall of the CDC|by James Bandler, Patricia Callahan, Sebastian Rotella and Kirsten Berg|October 15, 2020|ProPublica

British Dictionary definitions for scrap (1 of 2)

scrap¹

/ (skræp) /

noun

a small piece of something larger; fragment

an extract from something written

waste material or used articles, esp metal, often collected and reprocessed
(as modifier)scrap iron

(plural) pieces of discarded food

verb scraps, scrapping or scrapped (tr)

to make into scrap

to discard as useless

Word Origin for scrap

C14: from Old Norse skrap; see scrape

British Dictionary definitions for scrap (2 of 2)

scrap²

/ (skræp) informal /

noun

a fight or argument

verb scraps, scrapping or scrapped

(intr) to quarrel or fight

Word Origin for scrap

C17: perhaps from scrape

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

scrap

Origin of scrap

OTHER WORDS FROM scrap

Other definitions for scrap (2 of 2)

Origin of scrap

Words related to scrap

How to use scrap in a sentence

British Dictionary definitions for scrap (1 of 2)

Word Origin for scrap

British Dictionary definitions for scrap (2 of 2)

Word Origin for scrap