Speakur

Word Pronunciation & Dictionary

scavenger

/ˈskæv.ən.d͡ʒə(ɹ)/

Word Rarity Rare

Frequency: Zipf frequency 3.03 in modern English

Syllables
scav-enger
IPA
/ˈskæv.ən.d͡ʒə(ɹ)/
15
Scrabble Score
9
Letters
3
Syllables
8
Unique Chars

Meaning

noun

Someone who scavenges, especially one who searches through rubbish for food or useful things.

noun

An animal that feeds on decaying matter such as carrion.

noun

A street sweeper.

British usage; Obsolete

noun

A child employed to pick up loose cotton from the floor in a cotton mill.

British usage

noun

A substance used to remove impurities from the air or from a solution.

verb

To scavenge.

Archaic

verb

To clean the rubbish from a street, etc.

Archaic

Example Sentences

Etymology

Originally from Middle English scavager, from Anglo-Norman scawageour (“one who had to do with scavage, inspector, tax collector”), from Old Northern French *scawage, escauwage (“scavage”), Old French *scavage, escavage, alteration of escauvinghe (compare Medieval Latin scewinga, sceawinga), from Old Dutch scauwōn (“to inspect, to examinate, to look at”). Usually reinterpreted/re-analysed today as scavenge (which was originally a backformation from this word) + -er. Compare Old English sċēawung (“a showing, spectacle, examination, inspection, toll on exposure of goods”) and Dutch schouwing (“inspection”). More at show. See also messenger and passenger.

Origin

Word Breakdown

Regional Pronunciation

  • British English: /ˈskæv.ən.d͡ʒə(ɹ)/

Usage

Inflected Forms

scavengers (plural) skavenger (alternative) scavengers (present, singular) scavengering (participle, present) scavengered (participle, past) scavengered (past)

Derived Forms

bioscavenger scaffy scavengerism scavengerous scavengership unscavengered

Phrases

scavenger beetle scavenger crab scavenger hunt scavenger sale scavenger's daughter water scavenger beetle white scavenger vulture

Synonyms

magpie pack rat

Questions

How do you pronounce scavenger?
The recorded pronunciation is /ˈskæv.ən.d͡ʒə(ɹ)/.
What does scavenger mean?
Someone who scavenges, especially one who searches through rubbish for food or useful things.
Where does scavenger come from?
It is traced to Middle English.

How to pronounce scavenger

  1. Open the pronunciation page — Open the Speakur entry for “scavenger”.
  2. Read the phonetic spelling — Read the IPA spelling (/ˈskæv.ən.d͡ʒə(ɹ)/) so you know which sounds to aim for.
  3. Play the audio — Click Play to hear reference audio for “scavenger”.
  4. Repeat and practice — Say “scavenger” aloud, matching stress and vowels until it feels natural.