scavenge

UK: /ˈskævɪndʒ/ US: /ˈskævɪndʒ/ ,(skav′inj)

Inflections of 'scavenge' (v): (⇒ conjugate)

scavenges

v 3rd person singular

scavenging

v pres p

scavenged

v past

scavenged

v past p

WordReference Random House Learner's Dictionary of American English © 2025

scav•enge /ˈskævɪndʒ/   v., -enged, -eng•ing. 

1. to gather by searching (something that can be used) from rubbish: [no object; (~ + for + object)]
   The vultures scavenged for food.
   [~ + object]
   scavenged some parts.

WordReference Random House Unabridged Dictionary of American English © 2025

scav•enge  (skav′inj), v., -enged, -eng•ing. 
v.t. 

1. to take or gather (something usable) from discarded material.
2. to cleanse of filth, as a street.
3. Automotive 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.

v.i. 

5. to act as a scavenger.
6. Automotive (of an engine or cylinder) to become scavenged of burnt gases.
7. to search, esp. for food.

• back formation from scavenger 1635–45

Collins Concise English Dictionary © HarperCollins Publishers::

scavenge / ˈskævɪndʒ/ verb

1. to search for (anything usable) among discarded material
2. (transitive) to purify (a molten metal) by bubbling a suitable gas through it. The gas may be inert or may react with the impurities
3. to clean up filth from (streets, etc)