scavenge Definition
scav·enge (skav′inj)
transitive verb -·enged, -·eng·ing
- to clean up (streets, alleys, etc.); remove rubbish, dirt, or garbage from
- to salvage (usable goods) by rummaging through refuse or discards
- to remove burned gases from (the cylinder of an internal-combustion engine)
- Metallurgy to clean (molten metal) by using a substance that will combine chemically with the impurities present
Etymology: back-form. < scavenger
intransitive verb
- to act as a scavenger
- to look for food
scavenge Usage Examples
Object
- radical: Its prime function is to help scavenge harmful free radicals which are by-products of oxygen metabolism.
- bird: An absence of scavenging birds may suggest that the site was kept relatively clean at this stage of occupation.
- animal: This should protect it from scavenging animals · Try to keep rubbish to a minimum.
- food: But I've seen pigeons scavenge leftover food on a table outside a cafe when there are people sitting just on the next table.
- material: The chapel stands as a reminder of the unfailing faith of the Italians and their ingenious use of scavenged material.
- system: Disease control Diseases are the major limiting factor for improving productivity in scavenging systems.
Preposition: on
dump: They are also known to scavenge on refuse dumps, eating most things that they find.
Preposition: at
owner: The villages are scavenged at the owners ' expense; no lighting; no supervision.
Noun phrase with adjective complement
such: The decay of this catch attracts scavenging organisms such as crustaceans, many of which can be commercially important species.
Modifying Another Word
- regularly: Thousands of birds regularly scavenge on the site and then fly across the residential areas leaving waste deposits.
- also: Diet Their natural diet is grain and seeds, but they also scavenge on food discarded on urban streets.
- occasionally: Some tarantulas will occasionally scavenge, and you can offer a small dead minnow or piece of steak.
- often: In urban areas they often scavenge, sometimes from dustbins.
Subject
gull: The broken body fluttered down to the sea a hundred feet below, to be scavenged by the gulls, already beginning to gather.
Preposition: from
bin: Many of them already roam the streets, scavenging from garbage bins for food.
Preposition: for
- scrap: Those species that cannot cling to hanging containers will scavenge for the scraps that fall to the ground.
- food: Image: Homeless people scavenge for food on a rubbish tip near Moscow, Russia.
- coal: Peasant scavenging for coal with his son on a state-owned coal mine slag heap.
- fuel: Peasant woman scavenging for usable fuel on a state-owned coal mine slag heap that over-shadows her village.
Preposition: by
gull: The broken body fluttered down to the sea a hundred feet below, to be scavenged by the gulls, already beginning to gather.
Browse dictionary entries near scavenge
- ‹ scaup
- ‹ scatty
- ‹ scattershot
- ‹ scatternet
- ‹ scatteringly
- ‹ scattering
- ‹ scattergood
- ‹ scattered
- ‹ scatterbrained
- ‹ scatterbrain
- scavenger ›
- scavenger hunt ›
- Scavenging Technique ›
- ScB ›
- SCC ›
- SCC Decision ›
- ScD ›
- SCE ›
- Sce' ve, Maurice ›
- scena ›

