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scrape

 - 4 dictionary results

scrape

  [skreyp] verb, scraped, scrap⋅ing, noun
Use scrape in a Sentence
–verb (used with object)
1. to deprive of or free from an outer layer, adhering matter, etc., or to smooth by drawing or rubbing something, esp. a sharp or rough instrument, over the surface: to scrape a table to remove paint and varnish.
2. to remove (an outer layer, adhering matter, etc.) in this way: to scrape the paint and varnish from a table.
3. to scratch, injure, or mar the surface of in this way: to scrape one's arm on a rough wall.
4. to produce by scraping: He scraped his initials on the rock.
5. to collect or do by or as if by scraping; do or gather laboriously or with difficulty (usually fol. by up or together): They managed to scrape together a football team.
6. to rub harshly on or across (something): Don't scrape the floor with your boots!
7. to draw or rub (a thing) roughly across something: Scrape your shoes on the doormat before you come in.
8. to level (an unpaved road) with a grader.
–verb (used without object)
9. to scrape something.
10. to rub against something gratingly.
11. to produce a grating and unmusical tone from a string instrument.
12. to draw one's foot back noisily along the ground in making a bow.
13. to manage or get by with difficulty or with only the barest margin: I barely scraped through on the test.
14. to economize or save by attention to even the slightest amounts: By careful scraping they managed to survive.
–noun
15. an act or instance of scraping.
16. a drawing back of the foot noisily along the ground in making a bow.
17. a harsh, shrill, or scratching sound made by scraping.
18. a scraped place: a scrape on one's elbow.
19. an embarrassing or distressing situation; predicament: He is always in some kind of a scrape.
20. a difference of opinion, fight, or quarrel; scrap.
Origin:
bef. 1000; (v.) ME scrapen < ON skrapa; r. ME shrapen, OE scrapian to scratch (c. ON skrapa); (n.) late ME: scraper, deriv. of the v.

Related forms:
scrap⋅a⋅ble, adjective
scrapeage, noun

Synonyms:
14. scrimp, stint, pinch.
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
Cite This Source Link To scrape
scrape   (skrāp)   
v.   scraped, scrap·ing, scrapes

v.   tr.

  1. To remove (an outer layer, for example) from a surface by forceful strokes of an edged or rough instrument: scraped the wallpaper off before painting the wall.

  2. To abrade or smooth by rubbing with a sharp or rough instrument.

  3. To rub (a surface) with considerable pressure, as with an edged instrument or a hard object.

  4. To draw (a hard or abrasive object) forcefully over a surface: scraped my fingernails down the blackboard.

  5. To injure the surface of by rubbing against something rough or sharp: scraped my knee on the sidewalk.

  6. To amass or produce with difficulty: scrape together some cash.

v.   intr.

  1. To come into sliding, abrasive contact.

  2. To rub or move with a harsh grating noise.

  3. To give forth a harsh grating noise.

  4. To economize or save money by paying attention to very small amounts; scrimp.

  5. To succeed or manage with difficulty: scraped through by a narrow margin.

n.  

    1. The act of scraping.

    2. The sound of scraping.

    3. An embarrassing predicament.

    4. A fight; a scuffle.

  2. An abrasion on the skin.

    1. An embarrassing predicament.

    2. A fight; a scuffle.


[Middle English scrapen, from Old Norse skrapa; see sker-1 in Indo-European roots.]
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2009 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
Cite This Source
Word Origin & History

scrape 
c.1303, probably from O.N. skrapa "to scrape, erase," from P.Gmc. *skrapojan (cf. O.E. scrapian "to scrape," Du. schrapen, Ger. schrappen). The noun is attested from c.1440. Meaning "embarrassing or awkward predicament" is recorded from 1709, as OED suggests, "probably from the notion of being 'scraped' in going through a narrow passage." To scrape the bottom of the barrel in figurative sense is from 1942.
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2001 Douglas Harper
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Idioms & Phrases

scrape

see (scrape the) bottom of the barrel; bow and scrape; scare (scrape) up.

The American Heritage® Dictionary of Idioms by Christine Ammer.
Copyright © 1997. Published by Houghton Mifflin.
Cite This Source
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