1. To look for and collect useful things that have been discarded or left behind.
2. To feed on dead animals or other food left by others.
3. To remove spent gases or impurities from a machine or process.
Use it for
Words that belong together
- scavenge for supplies
- scavenge spare parts
On the page
The crew scavenged copper wire from the abandoned relay station.
Nearby words
Word forms
- Base
- scavenge
- Past tense
- scavenged
- Past participle
- scavenged
- Present participle
- scavenging
Full tense & aspect guide
- Present
- scavenge
- Present continuous
- am/is/are scavenging
- Present perfect
- have/has scavenged
- Present perfect continuous
- have/has been scavenging
- Past
- scavenged
- Past continuous
- was/were scavenging
- Past perfect
- had scavenged
- Past perfect continuous
- had been scavenging
- Future
- will scavenge
- Future continuous
- will be scavenging
- Future perfect
- will have scavenged
- Future perfect continuous
- will have been scavenging
Choose the auxiliary that agrees with your subject. These are constructions of one word, not separate entries.
Usage notes
Primary category: literary / elevated general. Forms: scavenge; scavenges; scavenged; scavenged; scavenging Legacy lexical fields mirror sense 1 only. Use numbered sense fields for all meanings. Established modern English lexical item. No separate regional spelling or grammatical inflection entry. Writing functions: description, action. Commonness: moderately common. Third-person singular: scavenges.
Practice this word in a sentenceYour margin notes
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