scrounge

Also scrounger

[skrounj]

verb (used with object)

scrounged, scrounging 

1. to borrow (a small amount or item) with no intention of repaying or returning it.

   to scrounge a cigarette.

2. to gather together by foraging; seek out.

   We'll try to scrounge enough food for supper from the neighbors.

verb (used without object)

scrounged, scrounging 

1. to borrow, especially a small item one is not expected to return or replace.

noun

1. a habitual borrower; sponger.

2. an act or instance of scrounging.

3. a person who exists by foraging.

verb phrase

1. scrounge around,  to search or forage for something, especially in a haphazard or disorganized fashion; hunt for.

   We scrounged around for something to eat.

scrounge

/ skraʊndʒ /

verb

1. to search in order to acquire (something) without cost

2. to obtain or seek to obtain (something) by cadging or begging

Other Word Forms

• scrounger noun

Word History and Origins

Origin of scrounge¹

First recorded in 1905–10; alteration of dial. scringe to glean

Word History and Origins

Origin of scrounge¹

C20: variant of dialect scrunge to steal, of obscure origin

Example Sentences

Order in from Goop At this point, we’re kind of scrounging for dinner.

From Los Angeles Times

They scrounged for clean blankets, saline and other emergency medical supplies in the dusty and mud-caked camp.

From Los Angeles Times

“It shouldn’t be. You shouldn’t scrounge to save money to go somewhere and be told you’ll be put on a waiting list. That should not happen, but it does.”

From Los Angeles Times

In the end, the Sheriff’s Department said it scrounged up nearly 100 buses, borrowing from nearby counties, the state prison system and the local public transit system in case the winds shifted.

From Los Angeles Times

Broke and missing his passport but infused with a traveler’s spirit, Khalid scrounges for odd jobs — restaurant work, cleaning the marina, painting someone’s boat — to make enough money to fly back.

From Los Angeles Times