scum
a film or layer of foul or extraneous matter that forms on the surface of a liquid.
refuse or offscourings.
a low, worthless, or evil person.
such persons collectively; riffraff; dregs.
to remove the scum from.
to remove as scum.
to form scum; become covered with scum.
Origin of scum
1Other words from scum
- scumless, adjective
- scumlike, adjective
- un·scummed, adjective
Words Nearby scum
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024
How to use scum in a sentence
Biofilms form dental plaque and pond scum, but they can also create beautiful, tie-dye formations and protect shipwrecks from deteriorating.
Turns out kombucha SCOBYs could make good water filters | Maggie Galloway | January 26, 2022 | Popular-ScienceSome common types are pond scum and even dental plaque, and biofilm can even preserve shipwrecks by coating the metal exterior and preventing corrosion.
These sophisticated bacteria communities assemble in tie-dye formation | Maggie Galloway | January 11, 2022 | Popular-ScienceThese freshwater blooms may look like scum, foam, mats or even paint floating atop the water.
Pond scum can release a paralyzing pollutant into the air | Tracy Vonder Brink | June 7, 2021 | Science News For StudentsOn Earth, such sediments have preserved evidence of ancient life in the form of fossilized mats of microscopic pond scum called stromatolites.
NASA rover Perseverance lands on Mars in mission to search for past life | Joel Achenbach, Sarah Kaplan, Ben Guarino | February 18, 2021 | Washington PostIntensely satisfying to use, these bad boys easily bust through even the grimiest, most built-up of messes—the soap scum on tubs, fat caked grill tops, and, of course, the toughest grout stains.
Grout scrub brushes that tackle even the toughest stains | PopSci Commerce Team | January 19, 2021 | Popular-Science
scum it off with your spoon, and lay it in anotherPage 117 dish.
The Closet of Sir Kenelm Digby Knight Opened | Kenelm DigbyThe home missions class furnished the inspiration for it, and called it "scum o' the Earth," an impromptu immigration pageant.
John Wesley, Jr. | Dan B. BrummittLet all this boil together a full hour, and keep it constantly skimmed, as long as any scum will rise upon it.
The Closet of Sir Kenelm Digby Knight Opened | Kenelm Digbyscum like you has ter come ter the mark sooner or later, and come yer have.
Indian and Scout | F. S. BreretonOn scum exist the lowest conditions of life found in any stellar world.
Life in a Thousand Worlds | William Shuler Harris
British Dictionary definitions for scum
/ (skʌm) /
a layer of impure matter that forms on the surface of a liquid, often as the result of boiling or fermentation
the greenish film of algae and similar vegetation surface of a stagnant pond
Also called: dross, scruff the skin of oxides or impurities on the surface of a molten metal
waste matter
a worthless person or group of people
(tr) to remove scum from
(intr) rare to form a layer of or become covered with scum
Origin of scum
1Derived forms of scum
- scumlike, adjective
- scummer, noun
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
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