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 India, vultures were nearly driven to extinction after scavenging on the carcasses of cows that had been given a common painkiller. —Emily Elconin, New York Times, 16 Feb. 2025

The adoptive parents would also withhold food and water, abuse evidenced by footage of one of the children scavenging something to eat from the trash. Footage uncovered by authorities also shows one of their kids tied to a basement bed, the outlet added. —Bailey Richards, People.com, 29 Dec. 2024

Players will have to rely on scavenging for most of their gear or finding valuables to trade for cash. —Issy Van Der Velde, Rolling Stone, 20 Nov. 2024

All the other bits so far have been scavenged from their property from past projects and/or incidents. —New Atlas, 23 Feb. 2025

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