often attributive
1
scraps plural
: fragments of discarded or leftover food
2
a
: a small detached piece
a scrap of paper
b
: a fragment of something written, printed, or spoken
scraps of conversation
c
: the least bit
not a scrap of evidence
3
4
a
: fragments of stock removed in manufacturing
b
: manufactured articles or parts rejected or discarded and useful only as material for reprocessing
especially
: waste and discarded metal
scrapped; scrapping
1
: to convert into scrap
2
: to abandon or get rid of as no longer of enough worth or effectiveness to retain
scrap outworn methods
Synonyms
Noun (1)
Verb (1)
- cashier
- cast (off)
- chuck
- deep-six
- discard
- ditch
- dump
- eighty-six
- 86
- exorcise
- exorcize
- fling (off or away)
- jettison
- junk
- lay by
- lose
- pitch
- reject
- shed
- shuck (off)
- slough (off)
- sluff (off)
- throw away
- throw out
- toss
- unload
Noun (2)
- altercation
- argle-bargle [chiefly British]
- argument
- argy-bargy [chiefly British]
- battle royal
- bicker
- brawl
- contretemps
- controversy
- cross fire
- disagreement
- dispute
- donnybrook
- falling-out
- fight
- hassle
- imbroglio
- kickup
- misunderstanding
- quarrel
- rhubarb
- row
- set-to
- spat
- squabble
- tiff
- wrangle
Verb (2)
Examples of scrap in a Sentence
Recent Examples on the Web
Nathan Solis, Los Angeles Times, 10 Apr. 2024
What's more, food waste is minimized by the kitchen's upcycling team, which turns scraps into preserves, pickles, and stocks.
—Stefanie Waldek, Travel + Leisure, 6 Apr. 2024
On Monday, two ships, a fuel barge and a scrap barge, passed through another temporary channel on the north side of the bridge that is 11 feet in depth.
—Chris Pandolfo, Fox News, 3 Apr. 2024
The growing and grinding of sugar on this plantation about 10 miles from Georgetown, Guyana’s capital, ended seven years ago, and parts of the complex, its weathered zinc walls the color of rust, have been sold for scrap.
—Gaiutra Bahadur Keisha Scarville, New York Times, 30 Mar. 2024
Images of him kneeling on the floor, in a suit and a surgical mask, picking up empty water bottles and scraps of paper, went viral and came to encapsulate everything Trumpism was not.
—E. Tammy Kim, The New Yorker, 28 Mar. 2024
Mila had to go to extremes to protect Felicia, such as hiding her in a bag of fabric scraps while Mila was working in a factory, and temporarily sending Felicia to live in a covenant under a false name.
—Carly Tagen-Dye, Peoplemag, 24 Mar. 2024
The Daily Mail, in typical Daily Mail fashion, then combed through its archives to find any scrap of evidence that Meghan Markle had ever photoshopped anything and came up with a quote from Markle's friend Misan Harriman, who, on a podcast, described taking their pregnancy announcement pictures.
—Elizabeth Logan, Glamour, 13 Mar. 2024
Other candidates and committees are an afterthought, left to squabble over his scraps.
—Michelle Cottle, The Mercury News, 4 Apr. 2024
Jacob Stern, The Atlantic, 15 Apr. 2024
In 2024, rumors circulated that the series had been scrapped at Hulu, but Variety later reported that the series is still in development.
—Julia Moore, Peoplemag, 15 Apr. 2024
The projects were scrapped by News Corporation, parent of the publisher HarperCollins and the Fox Television Network, and a corporation spokesman said Mr. Simpson was not expected to repay an $800,000 advance.
—Robert D. McFadden, New York Times, 11 Apr. 2024
Fortune Spain scraps the golden visa Spain is pulling the plug on its golden visa scheme, dealing a serious blow to foreign investors, particularly post-Brexit Brits.
—Alex Wood Morton, Fortune Europe, 9 Apr. 2024
Prosecutors proposed questions that delved further into potential jurors' politics, but some were scrapped by Judge Juan Merchan.
—Graham Kates, CBS News, 9 Apr. 2024
If Donald Trump wins the presidency, the reservation plan could well be scrapped.
—Paul Rogers, The Mercury News, 9 Apr. 2024
The important thing about SDI was not the tech—most of which didn’t exist when Reagan declared the U.S. would build the system (and in fact, the whole project was later scrapped).
—Jeremy Kahn, Fortune, 2 Apr. 2024
In February, under pressure from farmer protests, the E.U. acknowledged how polarizing its efforts have become, scrapping an anti-pesticide bill.
—Roger Cohen Ivor Prickett, New York Times, 31 Mar. 2024
Noun
The light poles join a growing list of bronze items stolen in recent months, probably for their scrap value.
—Nathan Solis, Los Angeles Times, 10 Apr. 2024
What's more, food waste is minimized by the kitchen's upcycling team, which turns scraps into preserves, pickles, and stocks.
—Stefanie Waldek, Travel + Leisure, 6 Apr. 2024
On Monday, two ships, a fuel barge and a scrap barge, passed through another temporary channel on the north side of the bridge that is 11 feet in depth.
—Chris Pandolfo, Fox News, 3 Apr. 2024
The growing and grinding of sugar on this plantation about 10 miles from Georgetown, Guyana’s capital, ended seven years ago, and parts of the complex, its weathered zinc walls the color of rust, have been sold for scrap.
—Gaiutra Bahadur Keisha Scarville, New York Times, 30 Mar. 2024
Images of him kneeling on the floor, in a suit and a surgical mask, picking up empty water bottles and scraps of paper, went viral and came to encapsulate everything Trumpism was not.
—E. Tammy Kim, The New Yorker, 28 Mar. 2024
Mila had to go to extremes to protect Felicia, such as hiding her in a bag of fabric scraps while Mila was working in a factory, and temporarily sending Felicia to live in a covenant under a false name.
—Carly Tagen-Dye, Peoplemag, 24 Mar. 2024
The Daily Mail, in typical Daily Mail fashion, then combed through its archives to find any scrap of evidence that Meghan Markle had ever photoshopped anything and came up with a quote from Markle's friend Misan Harriman, who, on a podcast, described taking their pregnancy announcement pictures.
—Elizabeth Logan, Glamour, 13 Mar. 2024
Other candidates and committees are an afterthought, left to squabble over his scraps.
—Michelle Cottle, The Mercury News, 4 Apr. 2024
Verb
The show started out with a laugh track but scrapped it for Season Two.
—Jacob Stern, The Atlantic, 15 Apr. 2024
In 2024, rumors circulated that the series had been scrapped at Hulu, but Variety later reported that the series is still in development.
—Julia Moore, Peoplemag, 15 Apr. 2024
The projects were scrapped by News Corporation, parent of the publisher HarperCollins and the Fox Television Network, and a corporation spokesman said Mr. Simpson was not expected to repay an $800,000 advance.
—Robert D. McFadden, New York Times, 11 Apr. 2024
Fortune Spain scraps the golden visa Spain is pulling the plug on its golden visa scheme, dealing a serious blow to foreign investors, particularly post-Brexit Brits.
—Alex Wood Morton, Fortune Europe, 9 Apr. 2024
Prosecutors proposed questions that delved further into potential jurors' politics, but some were scrapped by Judge Juan Merchan.
—Graham Kates, CBS News, 9 Apr. 2024
If Donald Trump wins the presidency, the reservation plan could well be scrapped.
—Paul Rogers, The Mercury News, 9 Apr. 2024
The important thing about SDI was not the tech—most of which didn’t exist when Reagan declared the U.S. would build the system (and in fact, the whole project was later scrapped).
—Jeremy Kahn, Fortune, 2 Apr. 2024
In February, under pressure from farmer protests, the E.U. acknowledged how polarizing its efforts have become, scrapping an anti-pesticide bill.
—Roger Cohen Ivor Prickett, New York Times, 31 Mar. 2024
These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'scrap.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
Dictionary Entries Near scrap
Cite this Entry
“Scrap.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/scrap. Accessed 23 Apr. 2024.
Copy CitationKids Definition
scrap
2 of 4 verb
scrapped; scrapping
1
: to break up into scrap
2
: to discard as worthless
scrap
3 of 4 nounEtymology
Noun
Middle English scrap "discarded bits of food"; of Norse origin
Noun
origin unknown
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