scavenger

noun scav·en·ger \ ˈska-vən-jər \

|Updated on: 18 Aug 2018

Editor's Note: Did You Know?

Definition of scavenger

1 chiefly British : a person employed to remove dirt and refuse from streets

2 : one that scavenges: such as

a : a garbage collector

b : a junk collector

c : a chemically active substance acting to make innocuous or remove an undesirable substance

3 : an organism that typically feeds on refuse or carrion

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Recent Examples of scavenger from the Web

There was talk of crudely gnawed-upon limbs and faces missing eyes, noses, livers, shreds of skin barely hanging on to some clavicle kicked away by anxious scavengers.

— chicago tribune, chicagotribune.com, "Algren Award runner-up: "Fluid Mechanics" by Mabel Yu," 2 June 2018
Ten percent goes into household garbage, 40 percent ends up with scavengers and unregistered recyclers, 10 percent is shipped abroad as functioning secondhand equipment, and 5 percent is exported illegally.

— peter ford, The Christian Science Monitor, "'E-waste': Getting grip on a growing global problem," 9 July 2018
Just across the street from Zakhar Zakharich lies Dry Bridge, where collectors, antique vendors and craftsmen set up shop for the Dry Bridge Flea Market, a scavenger’s wonderland of Perestroika plunder.

— debra kamin, New York Times, "36 Hours in Tbilisi," 7 June 2018
Life on the edge is the theme that binds rare-book scavengers, puppet quests, risqué comedy and high-wire improv in this week’s selections from some of L.A.’s adventurous smaller theaters.

— philip brandes, latimes.com, "The 99-Seat Beat: French Stewart, 'Pinocchio' reimagined and 'Dorothy Parker UnScripted'," 11 May 2018
But that approach is failing as the number of scavengers declines and the amount of household waste rises.

— michael holtz, The Christian Science Monitor, "Beijing gets tough on trash," 5 July 2018
But rope is still an essential tool for survival, whether it’s for stringing food away from bears, drying clothes, or binding a pesky scavenger.

— john wenz, Popular Mechanics, "16 Tools You Need When You Live Off the Grid," 3 July 2018
In fact, some archaeologists still debate whether those pointed sticks were used for hunting or just driving other scavengers away from potentially tasty carcasses.

— kiona n. smith, Ars Technica, "Archaeologists armed with spears demonstrate how Neanderthals hunted," 28 June 2018
Artists, bakers, chefs, scavengers, mobile boutiques, and more at indoor market.

— rasputin todd, Cincinnati.com, "Things to do this week in Cincinnati: June 4-10," 4 June 2018

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

Did You Know?

You might guess that "scavenger" is a derivative of "scavenge," but the reverse is actually true; "scavenger" is the older word, first appearing in English in 1530, and the back-formation "scavenge" came into English in the mid-17th century. "Scavenger" is an alteration of the earlier "scavager," itself from Anglo-French scawageour, meaning "collector of scavage." In medieval times, "scavage" was a tax levied by towns and cities on goods put up for sale by nonresidents, in order to provide resident merchants with a competitive advantage. The officers in charge of collecting this tax were later made responsible for keeping streets clean, and that's how "scavenger" came to refer to a public sanitation employee in Great Britain before acquiring its current sense referring to a person who salvages discarded items.

Origin and Etymology of scavenger

alteration of earlier scavager, from Anglo-French scawageour collector of scavage (duty collected from non-resident street merchants), from skawage scavage, from Middle French dialect (Flanders) escauver to inspect, from Middle Dutch scouwen; akin to Old English scēawian to look at — more at show

NEW! Time Traveler

First Known Use: 1530

in the meaning defined at sense 1

See Words from the same year