scrap
1 Americannoun
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a small piece or portion; fragment: scraps of cloth.
a scrap of paper;
scraps of cloth.
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scraps,
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bits or pieces of food, especially of leftover or discarded food.
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the remains of animal fat after the oil has been rendered; cracklings.
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a detached piece of something written or printed.
scraps of poetry.
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broken, discarded, or rejected items or parts for use as raw material or in reprocessing, as old metal that can be melted and reworked.
The two of them drive around collecting scrap to sell.
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chips, cuttings, fragments, or other small pieces of raw material removed, cut away, flaked off, etc., in the process of making or manufacturing an item.
Their cutting process is faster, but have you seen the amount of scrap it generates?
adjective
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consisting of pieces or fragments.
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existing in the form of fragments or remnants of use only for reworking, as metal.
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discarded or left over.
She was fashioning a toy out of some scrap wood.
verb (used with object)
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to break up into pieces for discarding or reworking.
to scrap old cars.
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to discard as useless, worthless, or ineffective.
He urged that we scrap the old method of teaching mathematics.
noun
verb (used without object)
noun
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a small piece of something larger; fragment
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an extract from something written
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waste material or used articles, esp metal, often collected and reprocessed
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( as modifier )
scrap iron
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(plural) pieces of discarded food
verb
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to make into scrap
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to discard as useless
noun
verb
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of scrap1
First recorded in 1350–1400; Middle English noun scrappe “scrap of food,” from Old Norse skrap, derivative of skrapa “to scrape ”
Origin of scrap2
First recorded in 1670–80; variant of scrape
Explanation
A scrap is a little leftover bit of something. You might jot down notes on a scrap of paper, or you might toss a scrap of food to your happy dog. A scrap is typically a small item that originally was part of something larger, like a scrap of fabric that was once part of a larger piece. Scrap can also describe something that’s no longer useful. For example, you might take scrap metal to the recycling center. A final meaning of the noun scrap is "fight," as in "I got into a scrap with my brother." Scrap also has a verb form that means "discard." When you scrap your plan to move to the Bahamas, that means you’re abandoning the plan.
Vocabulary lists containing scrap
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.
See Examples For:
One proposal under review would scrap annual cost-of-living adjustments altogether for beneficiaries with higher incomes.
From MarketWatch ● Oct. 14, 2026
Quen was identified in July thanks to a scrap of paper bearing his name that was found with his remains, and DNA samples that matched his relatives.
From Barron's ● Oct. 14, 2026
She wants the government to scrap the 0.5% tax, external Britons pay when they purchase UK shares, pointing out there is no tax when they buy foreign stocks.
From BBC ● Oct. 7, 2026
The company expects to build plants at the site to process the ore for use in electric arc furnaces with scrap steel to make new steel.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 28, 2026
By the first post I got my directed envelope with a dirty scrap of paper enclosed, on which was written with a carpenter’s pencil in a sprawling hand:—
From "Dracula" by Bram Stoker
But investigators found no evidence to support the claims, Reuters reported, and the idea was scrapped.
From Salon ● Oct. 16, 2026
The cloud-computing company scrapped plans for what would have been Australia’s largest initial public offering in almost 30 years.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 14, 2026
But a plan to cover the Slovenian's initial absence by using Mbeumo as a number nine had to be scrapped when Amad Diallo suffered an ankle injury just before the opening game at Hull.
From BBC ● Oct. 13, 2026
SYDNEY—Nvidia-backed cloud-computing company Firmus Grid scrapped plans for what would have been Australia’s largest initial public offering in almost 30 years, citing market conditions.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 8, 2026
Ultimately it is scrapped as obsolete, never having brought any material benefit to anybody, and with further enormous labors another Floating Fortress is built.
From "1984" by George Orwell
Some companies are scrapping data center plans amid pushback.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 15, 2026
Tinubu, who is seeking a second term, pushed through sweeping economic reforms when he came into office in 2023, including scrapping a major fuel subsidy and floating the naira.
From Barron's ● Oct. 8, 2026
Burnham has already offered "breathing space" - as he calls it – on the cost of living by temporarily scrapping VAT on electricity bills from October.
From BBC ● Sep. 10, 2026
And most recently, states have been scrapping tax incentives that aim to lure data-center projects to their states, which would cost the builders billions of dollars, the Wall Street Journal reported.
From MarketWatch ● Sep. 10, 2026
"Listen, if scrapbooking don't work out, you can always take up scrapping," I joked to make her feel better.
From "When I Was the Greatest" by Jason Reynolds
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