scavenge

(skavinj)

transitive verb scavenged, scavenging

  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

Origin: back-form. < scavenger

intransitive verb

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

See scavenge in American Heritage Dictionary 4

verb scav·enged, scav·eng·ing, scav·eng·es
verb, transitive
  1. To search through for salvageable material: scavenged the garbage cans for food scraps.
  2. To collect and remove refuse from: The streets are periodically scavenged.
  3. To collect (salvageable material) by searching.
  4. a. To expel (exhaust gases) from a cylinder of an internal-combustion engine.
    b. To expel exhaust gases from (such a cylinder).
  5. Metallurgy To clean (molten metal) by chemically removing impurities.
verb, intransitive
  1. To search through refuse for useful material.
  2. To feed on dead or decaying matter.

Origin:

Origin: Back-formation from scavenger

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