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scavenge

 - 2 dictionary results

scav⋅enge

[skav-inj] verb, -enged, -eng⋅ing.
–verb (used with object)
1. to take or gather (something usable) from discarded material.
2. to cleanse of filth, as a street.
3. to expel burnt gases from (the cylinder of an internal-combustion engine).
4. Metallurgy. to purify (molten metal) by introducing a substance that will combine chemically with impurities.
–verb (used without object)
5. to act as a scavenger.
6. (of an engine or cylinder) to become scavenged of burnt gases.
7. to search, esp. for food.

Origin:
1635–45; back formation from scavenger
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
Cite This Source Link To scavenge
scav·enge   (skāv'ənj)   
v.   scav·enged, scav·eng·ing, scav·eng·es

v.   tr.
  1. To search through for salvageable material: scavenged the garbage cans for food scraps.

  2. To collect and remove refuse from: The streets are periodically scavenged.

  3. To collect (salvageable material) by searching.

    1. To expel (exhaust gases) from a cylinder of an internal-combustion engine.

    2. To expel exhaust gases from (such a cylinder).

  4. Metallurgy To clean (molten metal) by chemically removing impurities.

v.   intr.
  1. To search through refuse for useful material.

  2. To feed on dead or decaying matter.


[Back-formation from scavenger.]
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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