scour
1to remove dirt, grease, etc., from or to cleanse or polish by hard rubbing, as with a rough or abrasive material: to scour pots and pans.
to remove (dirt, grease, etc.) from something by hard rubbing: to scour grease from pots and pans.
to clear or dig out (a channel, drain, etc.) as by the force of water, by removing debris, etc.
to purge thoroughly, as an animal.
to clear or rid of what is undesirable: to scour the nation of spies.
to remove by or as if by cleansing; get rid of.
to clean or rid of debris, impurities, etc., by or as if by washing, as cotton or wool.
Metallurgy. (of the contents of a blast furnace) to rub against and corrode (the refractory lining).
to rub a surface in order to cleanse or polish it.
to remove dirt, grease, etc.
to become clean and shiny.
to be capable of being cleaned by rubbing: The roasting pan scours easily.
(of a plow, cultivator, etc.) to pass through the ground without soil clinging to the blade.
(of a plow, shovel, etc.) to become polished from use.
the act of scouring.
the place scoured.
an apparatus or material used in scouring; scourer: Sand is a good scour.
the erosive force of moving water, as in a river or sea.
Usually scours. (used with a singular or plural verb)Veterinary Pathology. diarrhea in horses and cattle caused by intestinal infection.
Origin of scour
1Other words for scour
Other definitions for scour (2 of 2)
to range over, as in a search: They scoured the countryside for the lost child.
to run or pass quickly over or along.
to range about, as in search of something.
to move rapidly or energetically.
Origin of scour
2Other words for scour
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024
How to use scour in a sentence
As the bus gets ready to head out of the city, a young organizer scours between guitar cases inside the bus.
But this lack of identity seems to be changing with the speed at which a search engine scours the web.
Does Katie Couric’s Move to Yahoo Signal the End of Old Media Dominance? | David Freedlander | November 25, 2013 | THE DAILY BEASTHe frequently scours networking events, meetups, and other social gatherings in search of good partners for his clients.
Professional Matchmakers Build Business on Facebook | Nina Strochlic | August 5, 2013 | THE DAILY BEASTWiredTrust sells a program called Pathway that scours a site looking for patterns that could signal trouble.
Skout Website Case Suggests How Adults Could Use Apps to Rape Kids | Dan Lyons | June 15, 2012 | THE DAILY BEASTWith Tax Day coming up, The Daily Beast scours the records to find whether Democrats or Republicans have the worse tax problem.
Scours along all day, and after the intervening bit of land, again along; awakening the ice-bound silences.
History Of Friedrich II. of Prussia, Vol. III. (of XXI.) | Thomas CarlyleIt is good for kitchen-tables, as it scours well and does not easily splinter.
Miscellanea | Juliana Horatia EwingOn the wing, from daylight to dark, she scours the country for the flies and other insects with which to feed the young.
Book of Monsters | David Fairchild and Marian Hubbard (Bell) FairchildEvery spring, as soon as the grass grows, the cavalry takes the field and scours over the country for hundreds of miles.
The Silent Readers | William D. LewisBut as soon as he has consumed his provisions, he then rouses himself and, like the lion, scours the forest in quest of food.
Wanderings in South America | Charles Waterton
British Dictionary definitions for scour (1 of 2)
/ (skaʊə) /
to clean or polish (a surface) by washing and rubbing, as with an abrasive cloth
to remove dirt from or have the dirt removed from
(tr) to clear (a channel) by the force of water; flush
(tr) to remove by or as if by rubbing
(intr) (of livestock, esp cattle) to have diarrhoea
(tr) to cause (livestock) to purge their bowels
(tr) to wash (wool) to remove wax, suint, and other impurities
the act of scouring
the place scoured, esp by running water
something that scours, such as a cleansing agent
(often plural) prolonged diarrhoea in livestock, esp cattle
Origin of scour
1Derived forms of scour
- scourer, noun
British Dictionary definitions for scour (2 of 2)
/ (skaʊə) /
to range over (territory), as in making a search
to move swiftly or energetically over (territory)
Origin of scour
2Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012
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