scrounge

American  

[skraunj] / skraʊndʒ /

Also scrounger

verb (used with object)

• scrounges,
  present (3rd person singular)
• scrounged,
  past participle,  past
• scrounging
  present participle

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.

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verb (used without object)

• scrounges,
  present (3rd person singular)
• scrounged,
  past participle,  past
• scrounging
  present participle

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

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Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• scrounger
  noun

Inflected Forms

Participles

• scrounging
  present
• scrounged
  past

Conjugated Forms

Present

• scrounge
  simple
• scrounges
  simple
• have scrounged
  perfect
• has scrounged
  perfect
• am scrounging
  progressive
• are scrounging
  progressive
• is scrounging
  progressive
• have been scrounging
  perfect progressive
• has been scrounging
  perfect progressive

Past

• scrounged
  simple
• had scrounged
  perfect
• was scrounging
  progressive
• were scrounging
  progressive
• had been scrounging
  perfect progressive

Future

• will scrounge
  simple
• will have scrounged
  perfect
• will be scrounging
  progressive
• will have been scrounging
  perfect progressive

Etymology

Origin of scrounge

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

Explanation

When you scrounge, you borrow, scavenge, or forage for something. Somehow or other, you're going to have to scrounge up enough money to pay your sister back for that loan. Scrounge can essentially mean "root around looking for something," like when you scrounge for a snack in your grandparents' refrigerator. It also means to obtain something by wheedling or talking someone into giving it to you. If your best friend gets tired of you scrounging money for snacks and movie tickets, you may finally have to get a job.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

scrounge scrounges scrounged scrounging

At one point, the man who created such transporting excursions into grace as the Opus 39 Waltzes had to scrounge around for his own piano.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 25, 2026

While some landlords offer a short grace period for renters to scrounge together enough cash, fintech companies are offering a different deal: split your rent into installments throughout the month.

From MarketWatch ● Feb. 13, 2026

“It was absolutely horrendous. We were really struggling, having to scrounge around for masks and gloves,“ says Mandi Masters, a community midwife from Aylesbury in Buckinghamshire.

From BBC ● Sep. 8, 2024

Now, if only Clark could scrounge up enough cash to buy season tickets for loved ones.

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 19, 2024

That’s all Abbey and I could scrounge up—and fifty-one bucks of it was hers.

From "Flush" by Carl Hiaasen

The revenue agency, as it scrounges for new recruits, could run into the type of problem the Border Patrol faced when it went on a spending and hiring spree 15 years ago.

From Washington Times ● Jan. 6, 2023

And so Silverio dismisses Luis as little more than “an entertainer, an opinion peddler” who scrounges for likes on social media.

From Los Angeles Times ● Nov. 23, 2022

But tools can be misplaced, lost or destroyed, potentially leaving guns inoperable unless someone scrounges up a U.S.-supplied wrench.

From New York Times ● Jun. 6, 2022

Abu Malek said he scrounges the items needed for the inflatables.

From Washington Post ● Mar. 8, 2020

Ratty scrounges a prime rope fra' somewheers, an' we creeps out after nightfall.

From Punch, or the London Charivari, Volume 156, June 11, 1919 by Various

The group came together at Sedalia, Mo., high school, scrounged up money and bought a caboose from a local salvage yard.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Mar. 23, 2026

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

From Salon ● Dec. 13, 2025

Some folks started buying high-flow toilets from Canada; others scrounged for beloved older models in salvage yards.

From Slate ● Feb. 25, 2025

Who scrounged to build her home and start a small business, struggled to meet a payroll and was forced to deal with clueless bureaucrats.

From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 27, 2024

She left a pile of her things by the door: a comb, a square of polished silver that Ajarry had scrounged years ago, the pile of blue stones that Nag called her “Indian rocks.”

From "The Underground Railroad: A Novel" by Colson Whitehead

Of late, investors scrounging for stocks have preferred junk —smaller companies with poor fundamentals and exorbitant valuations—over quality companies with healthy sales and earnings growth, solid balance sheets, and more attractive prices.

From Barron's ● Oct. 23, 2025

Macron’s government is currently scrounging for tens-of-billions in cost savings as it tries to rein in the government’s budget deficit, which reached 5.8% of economic output last year.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 20, 2025

At times, she has resorted to scrounging up used parts or using screws from the hardware store to repair it.

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 21, 2024

Friends, my family included, have been scrounging for fans, dehumidifiers, and sump pumps to lend to friends affected by the flood.

From Slate ● Aug. 9, 2024

Ralph was tired of skulking about, hiding in mittens and boots, scrounging glue-flavored seeds from fourth-grade mosaics, and eating sugar, which he had overheard children say rotted teeth.

From "Ralph S. Mouse" by Beverly Cleary