scourer
1 Americannoun
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a person who scours or ranges about.
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(in the 17th and 18th centuries) a prankster who roamed the streets at night.
Etymology
Origin of scourer1
First recorded in 1425–75, scourer is from the late Middle English word scourour. See scour 1, -er 1
Origin of scourer2
Middle English word dating back to 1350–1400; see origin at scour 2, -er 1
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.
So has the man behind hit song Power turned to a charity-rank scourer to come up with this find?
From BBC • Oct. 6, 2023
He is equally a curator, collector, exhibition designer, photographer, historian, archivist and scourer of auctions and antique emporia.
From New York Times • Mar. 7, 2018
My weapon is sponge overlaid by a separate scourer.
From The Guardian • Aug. 23, 2015
If you’re a first time thrift store scourer, it can be a little intimidating because there’s a lot of stuff everywhere.
From US News • Oct. 28, 2014
Frenchy’s bowel scourer proved to be so fabulously potent that bottles of it spontaneously exploded in the jockeys’ room lavatory.
From "Seabiscuit: An American Legend" by Laura Hillenbrand
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.
