scrounge

American  

[skrounj] / skraʊndʒ /

Also scrounger

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 British  

/ 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

Etymology

Origin of scrounge

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

Example Sentences

What was once one of the coolest secrets in Los Angeles has become a veritable ghost town, the vast empty spaces populated by howling coyotes and scrounging bears.

From Los Angeles Times

He scrounged together stopgap university funding and outside donations to keep the operation running “on fumes,” vowing “to go down swinging.”

From Salon

His team scrounged up three, including a rental from actor Giovanni Ribisi, who has developed a reputation as a cinematographer and camera whisperer with a menagerie of restored relics.

From The Wall Street Journal

In Tawila, hundreds of people have huddled together in makeshift tents in a vast desert expanse, scrounging together what they can to prepare food for their families, AFP video shows.

From Barron's

The men ran out of food, subsisting on what they scrounged up: vitamins pills and pancake mix.

From Los Angeles Times