scab Definition
scab (skab)
noun
- a crust that forms over a sore or wound during healing
- a mangy skin disease, as scabies, of animals, esp. sheep
- any of various plant diseases characterized by roughened, scablike spots on leaves, stems, or fruits
- any such spot
- : often a term of contempt or derision
- Slang a low, contemptible fellow; scoundrel
- ☆ a worker who refuses to join a union, or who works for lower wages or under different conditions than those accepted by the union
- a worker who refuses to strike, or who takes the place of a striking worker
Etymology: ME scabbe < ON skabb, akin to OE sceabb < IE base *(s)kep-, to cut, split > L scabies, scabies, scabere, to shave
intransitive verb scabbed, scab′·bing
- to become covered with a scab; form a scab
- ☆ to work or act as a scab
scab Synonyms
scab
n.
scab Usage Examples
Converse of object
- pick: You know - if you've ever picked the scab of a sore place.
- cause: Moving your mouth can cause the scab to crack.
- form: Cold sores usually start with a tingling, itching sensation on the lip, followed by blisters which weep, forming a scab.
- have: Back to Top My rat has small scabs all over its back.
- get: There are several reasons why rats get scabs, the most obvious being mites which can be picked up from bedding or food.
- soften: A little petroleum jelly applied on the inner side of the nose can also soften scabs.
Adjective modifier
- powdery: Dr. Bus presented a paper on control of powdery scab in the Netherlands by looking at the use of 'trap ' crops.
- small: A tick bite usually looks like a lump with a small scab on the skin surface at the site of the bite.
- black: The coal operators moved in black scabs from further south to break the strike.
- common: A number of Venturia species cause diseases on other species of trees, the most common being apple scab.
Modifies a noun
- mite: However, there is currently no method for rearing sheep scab mites away from sheep.
- labor: On pickets, defense squads controlled by workers need to be set up to stop the police getting scab labor in.
- union: In the middle of a bitter dispute a new scab company union was set up.
- formation: A concomitant dermal invasion by neutrophils and T and B-lymphocytes lead to epithelial infiltration and scab formation.
- bus: Despite the riot police, sheer weight of numbers prevented the scab bus getting through.
- leader: What was the real role of Lynk and Pendergast, the scab UDM leaders before, during and after the strike?
Modifying Another Word
then: Chicken pox An infectious disease that makes you break out in tiny blisters which then scab over.
Followed by an intransitive particle
over: Two to three days before the rash appears and before the blisters scab over, the virus can be passed between people.
Noun used with modifier

