scrounge

verb
\ ˈskrau̇nj How to pronounce scrounge (audio) \
scrounged; scrounging

Definition of scrounge

transitive verb

1 : steal, swipe
2a : to get as needed by or as if by foraging, scavenging, or borrowing scrounging enough money for a bus ticket
b : finagle, wheedle often used with up

intransitive verb

: to search about and turn up something needed from whatever source is available also : to actively seek money, work, or sustenance from any available source

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Other Words from scrounge

scrounger noun

Examples of scrounge in a Sentence

I managed to scrounge enough money for a bus ticket. He's always scrounging off his friends instead of paying for things himself. We scrounged around for firewood. We managed to scrounge some firewood.
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Recent Examples on the Web

Another mother story, not that anyone’s asking: a day long ago, summer of ’80 or thereabouts, Constance scrounging for spare change and possibly a cigarette in one of the cloisonné boxes in the living room. Kate Walbert, The New Yorker, "To Do," 26 Aug. 2019 On Monday morning, dozens of people sat drinking coffee, charging cell phones and scrounging for information about whether the fire had burned or spared their homes. Michelle Theriault Boots, Anchorage Daily News, "‘We gotta get out now’: Residents of subdivision in McKinley fire’s path recount last-minute evacuations," 20 Aug. 2019 That means the new fund will probably need to scrounge from dozens of rich individuals and family offices to cobble together the same pool of money. Tim Culpan | Bloomberg, Washington Post, "Masa Finds Not Everyone Shares His Vision," 3 June 2019 Adel dropped out of school to scrounge for plastic along with his brothers. Heidi Levine, National Geographic, "Plastics in the Gaza Strip are both a curse and a blessing," 7 Aug. 2019 Others in the group were filter feeders, and now Cambroraster shows that some scrounged the sea floor like modern-day horseshoe crabs. Joshua Sokol, Science | AAAS, "‘Millennium Falcon’ predator soared across ocean floor at dawn of animal life," 30 July 2019 Airlines that were counting on the 737 Max to play a bigger role in their fleets may have to scrounge for additional aircraft. Chris Woodyard, USA TODAY, "'The stakes are too high to get this one wrong': Boeing 737 Max's grounding could hamper holiday travel," 19 June 2019 Jellyfish begin their lives much like their cousins, as sessile polyps anchored to the seafloor, scrounging for food in the passing currents. Quanta Magazine, "Jellyfish Genome Hints That Complexity Isn’t Genetically Complex," 8 Jan. 2019 The idea that someone with Matt’s skills was scrounging to develop tools that could mean life or death for soldiers hardly boded well for her program. Issie Lapowsky, WIRED, "The Pentagon Is Building a Dream Team of Tech-Savvy Soldiers," 2 July 2018

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'scrounge.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

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First Known Use of scrounge

circa 1909, in the meaning defined at transitive sense 1

History and Etymology for scrounge

alteration of English dialect scrunge to wander about idly

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More Definitions for scrounge

scrounge

verb

English Language Learners Definition of scrounge

: to persuade someone to give you (something) for free
US : to get or find something by looking in different places, asking different people, etc.

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