scour

¹

[ skouuhr, skou-er ]

verb (used with object)

1. to 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.

   Synonyms: rub, shine, buff, burnish

2. to remove (dirt, grease, etc.) from something by hard rubbing:

   to scour grease from pots and pans.

3. to clear or dig out (a channel, drain, etc.) as by the force of water, by removing debris, etc.
4. to purge thoroughly, as an animal.
5. to clear or rid of what is undesirable:

   to scour the nation of spies.

6. to remove by or as if by cleansing; get rid of.
7. to clean or rid of debris, impurities, etc., by or as if by washing, as cotton or wool.
8. Metallurgy. (of the contents of a blast furnace) to rub against and corrode (the refractory lining).

verb (used without object)

1. to rub a surface in order to cleanse or polish it.
2. to remove dirt, grease, etc.
3. to become clean and shiny.
4. to be capable of being cleaned by rubbing:

   The roasting pan scours easily.

5. (of a plow, cultivator, etc.) to pass through the ground without soil clinging to the blade.
6. (of a plow, shovel, etc.) to become polished from use.

noun

1. the act of scouring.
2. the place scoured.
3. an apparatus or material used in scouring; scourer:

   Sand is a good scour.

4. the erosive force of moving water, as in a river or sea.
5. Usually scours. (used with a singular or plural verb) Veterinary Pathology. diarrhea in horses and cattle caused by intestinal infection.

scour

²

[ skouuhr, skou-er ]

verb (used with object)

1. to range over, as in a search:

   They scoured the countryside for the lost child.

   Synonyms: ransack, rake, hunt, comb

2. to run or pass quickly over or along.

verb (used without object)

1. to range about, as in search of something.
2. to move rapidly or energetically.

scour

¹

/ skaʊə /

verb

1. to clean or polish (a surface) by washing and rubbing, as with an abrasive cloth
2. to remove dirt from or have the dirt removed from
3. tr to clear (a channel) by the force of water; flush
4. tr to remove by or as if by rubbing
5. intr (of livestock, esp cattle) to have diarrhoea
6. tr to cause (livestock) to purge their bowels
7. tr to wash (wool) to remove wax, suint, and other impurities

noun

1. the act of scouring
2. the place scoured, esp by running water
3. something that scours, such as a cleansing agent
4. often plural prolonged diarrhoea in livestock, esp cattle

scour

²

/ skaʊə /

verb

1. to range over (territory), as in making a search
2. to move swiftly or energetically over (territory)

Derived Forms

• ˈscourer, noun

Word History and Origins

Origin of scour¹

First recorded in 1200–50; Middle English verb scoure(n), score(n), from Middle Dutch sc(h)ūren, Middle Low German schüren, from Old French escurer (compare Medieval Latin escūrāre ), from Latin excūrāre “to take good care of,” equivalent to ex- ¹ + cūrāre “to care for”; cure ( def )

Origin of scour²

First recorded in 1250–1300; Middle English scouren, scure; of uncertain origin; perhaps from Old Norse skūr “storm, shower, shower of missles”; perhaps from Old French ecsour(r)e, escorir “to rush out or forth,” from Latin excurrere

Word History and Origins

Origin of scour¹

C13: via Middle Low German schūren, from Old French escurer, from Late Latin excūrāre to cleanse, from cūrāre; see cure

Origin of scour²

C14: from Old Norse skūr

Example Sentences

To examine this secretive world, The Times scoured thousands of pages of court records, internal corporate documents and regulatory filings, and interviewed 100 migrant employees, as well as regulators and industry experts.

From New York Times

After scouring social media, she found it for sale for £55 and arranged to meet the seller, taking her fiance and a male friend for backup.

From BBC

From a secret tea house in the Arts District to a festive sound bath in the Santa Monica Mountains, we’ve scoured the city for some of the best pockets of unexpected calm.

From Los Angeles Times

Reporters scoured death data, flagging Barnica’s case for its concerning cause of death: “sepsis” involving “products of conception.”

From Salon

“I get updates from our teams or from people who are scouring the news just to figure out, ‘which hospital is on the list today?’”

From Salon

Related Words

• comb
• ransack
• rummage