scavenge

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

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.

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