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

Ancestral wolves that were less afraid of humans began following hunting parties and scavenging leftovers. —Niranjana Rajalakshmi, Popular Science, 14 May 2026

While Vanegas watched a Bobcat excavator swing at her home Tuesday, a car full of people from Indiana pulled up behind her and began scavenging for aluminum in the wreckage of homes. —Addison Wright, Chicago Tribune, 13 May 2026

Back when hickory trees populated the South, people would gather up the hickory nuts before animals scavenged them away. —Kaitlyn Yarborough, Southern Living, 6 May 2026

Heizer specifically engineered it so that future humans, scavenging for scrap in a postapocalyptic scenario, would be forced to turn back from his monument empty-handed. —Olivia Kan-Sperling, Artforum, 2 May 2026

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