scab

noun

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\ ˈskab

Definition of scab

(Entry 1 of 2)

1 : scabies of domestic animals

2 : a crust of hardened blood and serum over a wound

3a : a contemptible person

b(1) : a worker who refuses to join a labor union

(2) : a union member who refuses to strike or returns to work before a strike has ended

(3) : a worker who accepts employment or replaces a union worker during a strike

(4) : one who works for less than union wages or on nonunion terms

4 : any of various bacterial or fungus diseases of plants characterized by crustaceous spots also : one of the spots

scab

verb

scabbed; scabbing

Definition of scab (Entry 2 of 2)

intransitive verb

1 : to become covered with a scab

2 : to act as a scab

Examples of scab in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web: Noun This may be the time to stop picking at the scab that is the vaccination wars. — Peggy Noonan, WSJ, 6 Jan. 2022 Death has been close at hand in real life throughout the COVID-19 pandemic, so gathering ‘round a fictional TV series as marked by it as this one can be a strange feeling — at once cathartic and painful, like picking at a scab. — Los Angeles Times, 3 Jan. 2022 The movie never successfully replicates the fear that was a hallmark of playing the video games, and its approach to ample gore is only as imaginative as a kid picking at a scab. — Kimber Myers, Los Angeles Times, 22 Nov. 2021 Pictures of her face included in the court filing show bruising under her eyes and a scab on her lip as well as swelling on her jaw and cheekbone. — Steve Henson Assistant Sports Editor, Los Angeles Times, 16 Aug. 2021 Pictures of her face included in the court filing show bruising under her eyes and a scab on her lip as well as swelling on her jaw and cheekbone. — Steve Henson Assistant Sports Editor, Los Angeles Times, 16 Aug. 2021 Painters and engravers could—indeed had to—control what got put in and what got left out of a portrait (eyes were important, a shaving scab less so). — Susan Tallman, The New York Review of Books, 19 Aug. 2021 Pictures of her face included in the court filing show bruising under her eyes and a scab on her lip as well as swelling on her jaw and cheekbone. — Steve Henson Assistant Sports Editor, Los Angeles Times, 16 Aug. 2021 That’s due to pecan scab, a fungus that attacked the pecans clear back in early summer. — Neil Sperry, San Antonio Express-News, 10 Sep. 2021 Recent Examples on the Web: Verb Non-members who scab jeopardize ever becoming members of this great Alliance. — Gene Maddaus, Variety, 14 Oct. 2021 Like smallpox, monkeypox causes skin blisters that eventually scab over. — Maggie Fox, CNN, 16 July 2021 Let succulent cuts dry out and scab over for a day or two before planting. — oregonlive, 8 Apr. 2021 Typically, the vaccinated area would form a blister, scab over, and leave behind a distinctive scar. — Jordan E. Taylor, Time, 5 Apr. 2021 The formation of these media-relations fiascos tends to scar and scab over the conscience, to treat it as an irrelevance or, at best, a private problem to be overcome. — Michael Brendan Dougherty, National Review, 5 Mar. 2021 Some people may form blisters or scab over in the few days, as the extreme cold has destroyed the skin cells in order to make the skin tag go away. — Kristi Kellogg, Allure, 12 Aug. 2020 Soldiers marching to Rome from Mesopotamia in late 165 AD were ill, many covered in red and black papules that eventually would scab over and fall off. — Fox News, 22 Apr. 2020 The rash consists of small blisters that typically scab over in seven to 10 days and clear up within two-to-four weeks. — Julie Washington, cleveland, 12 Jan. 2020

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'scab.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.