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scab

 - 8 dictionary results

scab

  [skab] noun, verb, scabbed, scab⋅bing.
Use scab in a Sentence
–noun
1. the incrustation that forms over a sore or wound during healing.
2. Veterinary Pathology. a mangy disease in animals, esp. sheep; scabies. Compare itch (def. 10).
3. Plant Pathology.
a. a disease of plants characterized by crustlike lesions on the affected parts and caused by a fungus or bacterium.
b. one of these crustlike lesions.
4. a worker who refuses to join a labor union or to participate in a union strike, who takes a striking worker's place on the job, or the like.
5. Slang. a rascal or scoundrel.
6. Metallurgy.
a. a projection or roughness on an ingot or casting from a defective mold.
b. a surface defect on an iron or steel piece resulting from the rolling in of scale.
7. Carpentry. a short, flat piece of wood used for various purposes, as binding two timbers butted together or strengthening a timber at a weak spot.
–verb (used without object)
8. to become covered with a scab.
9. to act or work as a scab.
Origin:
1200–50; 1800–10 for def. 4; ME < ON skabb scab, itch; cf. shabby, shave

Related forms:
scablike, adjective
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
Cite This Source Link To scab
scab   (skāb)   
n.  

  1. A crust discharged from and covering a healing wound.

  2. Scabies or mange in domestic animals or livestock, especially sheep.

    1. Any of various plant diseases caused by fungi or bacteria and resulting in crustlike spots on fruit, leaves, or roots.

    2. The spots caused by such a disease.

    3. A worker who refuses membership in a labor union.

    4. An employee who works while others are on strike; a strikebreaker.

    5. A person hired to replace a striking worker.

  4. Slang A person regarded as contemptible.

    1. A worker who refuses membership in a labor union.

    2. An employee who works while others are on strike; a strikebreaker.

    3. A person hired to replace a striking worker.

intr.v.   scabbed, scab·bing, scabs

  1. To become covered with scabs or a scab.

  2. To work or take a job as a scab.


[Middle English, from Old Norse skabb.]
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2009 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
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Cultural Dictionary

scab

Informally, a worker who stays on the job while others go on strike. Also, a worker brought in to keep a plant operating when its work force is on strike. (See strikebreaker.)

The American Heritage® New Dictionary of Cultural Literacy, Third Edition
Copyright © 2005 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
Cite This Source
Word Origin & History

scab 
c.1250, "skin disease," developed from O.E. sceabb "scab, itch" (related to scafan "to scratch") and from O.N. skabb "scab, itch," both from P.Gmc. *skab- "scratch, shave" (related to shabby). Sense reinforced by cognate L. scabies "scab, itch, mange" (from scabere "to scratch;" see scabies). Meaning "crust which forms over a wound or sore" is first attested c.1400. Meaning "strikebreaker" first recorded 1806, from earlier sense of "person who refuses to join a trade union" (1777), probably from meaning "despicable person" (1590), possibly borrowed in this sense from M.Du.
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2001 Douglas Harper
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Legal Dictionary

Main Entry: scab
Function: noun
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 : STRIKE BREAKER
4 : one who works for less than union wages or on nonunion terms
Merriam-Webster's Dictionary of Law, © 1996 Merriam-Webster, Inc.
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Medical Dictionary

Main Entry: 1scab
Pronunciation: 'skab
Function: noun
1 : scabies of domestic animals
2 : a hardened covering ofdried secretions (as blood, plasma, or pus) that forms over a wound called also crust —scab·by /-E/ adjective scab·bi·er;-est

Main Entry: 2scab
Function: intransitive verb
Inflected Forms: scabbed; scab·bing
: to become covered with a scab scabbed over>
Merriam-Webster's Medical Dictionary, © 2002 Merriam-Webster, Inc.
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Medical Dictionary

scab (skāb)
n.

  1. A crust formed from and covering a healing wound.

  2. Scabies or mange in domestic animals or livestock, especially sheep.

v. scabbed, scab·bing, scabs
To become covered with scabs or a scab.

The American Heritage® Stedman's Medical Dictionary
Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company.
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