transitive verb scavenged -·enged, scavenging -·eng·ing

1. to clean up (streets, alleys, etc.); remove rubbish, dirt, or garbage from
2. to salvage (usable goods) by rummaging through refuse or discards
3. to remove burned gases from (the cylinder of an internal-combustion engine)
4. Metallurgy to clean (molten metal) by using a substance that will combine chemically with the impurities present

Etymology: back-form. < scavenger

intransitive verb

1. to act as a scavenger
2. to look for food