scrounge

UK: /ˈskraʊndʒ/ US: /skraʊndʒ/ ,(skrounj)

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

scrounge

v 3rd person singular

scrounging

v pres p

scrounged

v past

scrounged

v past p

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

scrounge /skraʊndʒ/   v., scrounged, scroung•ing. 
v. 

1. to borrow without expecting to repay: [no object; ~ + off]
   to scrounge off his friends.
   [~ + object]
   to scrounge a cigarette.
2. to gather by searching around: [~ + object]
   scrounged enough money to buy gas.
   [~ (+ up) + object]
   to scrounge (up) food for supper.
   [~ + object (+ up)]
   to scrounge food (up) for supper.

scroung•er, n. 

[countable] the best scrounger in the Army.

WordReference Random House Unabridged Dictionary of American English © 2025

scrounge  (skrounj), v., scrounged, scroung•ing, n. 
v.t. 

1. to borrow (a small amount or item) with no intention of repaying or returning it:
   to scrounge a cigarette.
2. to gather together by foraging;
   seek out:
   We'll try to scrounge enough food for supper from the neighbors.

v.i. 

3. to borrow, esp. a small item one is not expected to return or replace.
4. scrounge around, to search or forage for something, esp. in a haphazard or disorganized fashion;
   hunt for:
   We scrounged around for something to eat.

n. 

5. a habitual borrower;
   sponger.
6. an act or instance of scrounging.
7. a person who exists by foraging. Also, scroung′er (for defs. 5, 7).

• alteration of dialect, dialectal scringe to glean 1905–10

Collins Concise English Dictionary © HarperCollins Publishers::

scrounge / skraʊndʒ/ verb

1. when intr, sometimes followed by around: to search in order to acquire (something) without cost
2. to obtain or seek to obtain (something) by cadging or begging

Etymology: 20th Century: variant of dialect scrunge to steal, of obscure origin

ˈscrounger noun