scavenge

verb

scav·​enge ˈska-vənj 

-vinj

scavenged; scavenging

transitive verb

1

a(1)

: to remove (dirt, refuse, etc.) from an area

(2)

: to clean away dirt or refuse from : cleanse

scavenge a street

b

: to feed on (carrion or refuse)

2

a

: to remove (burned gases) from the cylinder of an internal combustion engine after a working stroke

b

: to remove (something, such as an undesirable constituent) from a substance or region by chemical or physical means

c

: to clean and purify (molten metal) by taking up foreign elements in chemical union

3

: to salvage from discarded or refuse material

also : to salvage usable material from

intransitive verb

: to work or act as a scavenger

Examples of scavenge in a Sentence

Rats scavenged in the trash.

The bears scavenged the woods for food.

He scavenged the town dump for automobile parts.

Recent Examples on the Web

In most cases, these are scavenging or predatory animals that ate sick birds — and the virus has died in these animals and not become contagious between them. —Susanne Rust, Los Angeles Times, 15 May 2024

Matt Murphy | Orange County Deputy D.A: There were 12 days for the animals to scavenge Robin's remains. —Peter Van Sant, CBS News, 14 May 2024

Also, ants will scavenge for food whatever the weather, and your kitchen could be the perfect place. —Eleanor Nash, Kansas City Star, 8 May 2024

Many older Americans lost their savings and were forced to scavenge for work. —Michael Steinberger Malcolm Hillgartner Tanya Pérez Steven Szczesniak, New York Times, 8 May 2024

In a 2010 paper, paleontologists found that a Tarbosaurus, another close T. rex relative, used its jaws to carefully strip apart flesh from bone while scavenging a hadrosaur carcass. —Alex Orlando, Discover Magazine, 1 May 2024

From the outside, the crab looks like any other swimming crab scavenging through the fine sand. —Irene Wright, Miami Herald, 16 Apr. 2024

The whale’s carcass, which had been scavenged by sharks, was pulled to shore for a necropsy and identified as a mom from the 2024 calving season, having given birth to her sixth calf this past winter. —Rebekah Riess, CNN, 5 Apr. 2024

Unfortunately, the carcass of the whale calf was heavily scavenged by other animals before experts found it, so more testing will be required to get answers about the baby whale's death. —Kelli Bender, Peoplemag, 5 Mar. 2024

Word History

Etymology

back-formation from scavenger

First Known Use

circa 1644, in the meaning defined at transitive sense 1a(1)

Kids Definition

scavenge

verb

scav·​enge ˈskav-ənj 

-inj

scavenged; scavenging

: to collect usable things from what has been discarded