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
Derived Forms
Conjugated Forms
Present
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has scummedperfect 3rd person singular
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have scummedperfect
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are scummingprogressive
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am scummingprogressive 1st person singular
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is scummingprogressive 3rd person singular
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have been scummingperfect progressive
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scumssingular 3rd person
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has been scummingperfect progressive 3rd person singular
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scummingparticiple
Past
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had scummedperfect
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was scummingprogressive singular
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had been scummingperfect progressive
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were scummingprogressive plural
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scummedparticiple
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scummedsimple
Future
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.
While Embo didn’t have much screen time, he can be glimpsed among the scum and villainy in a handful of episodes including Season 2 Episode 17, Season 5 Episode 14 and Season 6 Episode 5.
From Los Angeles Times • May 21, 2026
On Tuesday, Daera advised people against bathing at Rea's Wood in Lough Neagh due to "the presence of a thick algal scum".
From BBC • Jul. 17, 2024
For most people, the word “algae” evokes puddles of puke-brown scum.
From Science Magazine • May 21, 2024
On Earth, ocean scum is a key part of sea spray that contributes to the smell of the ocean.
From Science Daily • Mar. 22, 2024
Just then, with a loud shout, Beowulf burst through the fiery scum at the pool's top.
From "Beowulf: A New Telling" by Robert Nye
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.
