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

Grizzly 1058 had likely been dead for three to seven days, based on the fact that roughly 20 percent of the carcass had been scavenged, per the Jackson Hole News & Guide. —Sarah Kuta, Smithsonian Magazine, 9 May 2025

Given their placement, the study authors also theorized the bites occurred as the predator was scavenging the body around his time of death. —Andrew Paul, Popular Science, 23 Apr. 2025

That includes a new heat pump that can scavenge waste energy from the motor, the battery pack, and the ambient air. —Tim Stevens, Ars Technica, 3 Mar. 2025

There’s credits, grenades, shield and health kids to scavenge, on top of tons of materials whose inherent value isn’t really made clear at first — or ever, really. —Christopher Cruz, Rolling Stone, 2 May 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