scum
Americannoun
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a film or layer of foul or extraneous matter that forms on the surface of a liquid.
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refuse or offscourings.
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a low, worthless, or evil person.
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such persons collectively; riffraff; dregs.
verb (used with object)
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to remove the scum from.
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to remove as scum.
verb (used without object)
noun
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a layer of impure matter that forms on the surface of a liquid, often as the result of boiling or fermentation
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the greenish film of algae and similar vegetation surface of a stagnant pond
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Also called: dross. scruff. the skin of oxides or impurities on the surface of a molten metal
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waste matter
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a worthless person or group of people
verb
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(tr) to remove scum from
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rare (intr) to form a layer of or become covered with scum
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of scum
1200–50; Middle English scume < Middle Dutch schūme ( Dutch schuim ) foam; cognate with German Schaum foam
Vocabulary lists containing scum
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.
He also had roles in 1979 films Quadrophinia and Scum, 1990s TV sitcom The Upper Hand, as well as The Bill, ITV Playhouse and Bergerac.
From BBC • Oct. 2, 2025
Club Scum was conceived by Rudy “Bleu” Garcia and Ray Sanchez as an alternative to the white-dominated drag and punk scenes in L.A.
From Los Angeles Times • Aug. 20, 2019
He still does all the artwork for his projects — “I always thought you do everything yourself,” he said — films wild CKY-style videos with his friends, and also has a budding streetwear line, Scum.
From New York Times • Jan. 10, 2019
Within a year, Die Yuppie Scum was not only a graffiti standard but was also a T-shirt, and “Meet me in Tompkins Square” was a refrain in a Lou Reed song.
From Slate • Aug. 9, 2017
“Four basebom churls. A beggar’s offering. Scum like that will never stop the snow. She might.”
From "A Dance with Dragons" by George R. R. Martin
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.
