Word Frequency
scour1 (skaʊə
)
Definitions
verb
- to clean or polish (a surface) by washing and rubbing, as with an abrasive cloth
- to remove dirt from or have the dirt removed from
- tr to clear (a channel) by the force of water; flush
- tr to remove by or as if by rubbing
- intr (of livestock, esp cattle) to have diarrhoea
- tr to cause (livestock) to purge their bowels
- tr to wash (wool) to remove wax, suint, and other impurities
noun
- the act of scouring
- the place scoured, esp by running water
- something that scours, such as a cleansing agent
- often plural prolonged diarrhoea in livestock, esp cattle
Derived Forms
ˈscourer nounWord Origin
C13: via Middle Low German schūren, from Old French escurer, from Late Latin excūrāre to cleanse, from cūrāre; see cureExample Sentences Including 'scours'
And as the NHS scours the world for medical staff, there are unspoken fears about hygiene standards.Sun, News of the World (2004)
Here Sun Motors scours the stands and picks out the best machines from each end of the scale.Sun, News of the World (2002)
Like a human Google, Gilbert scours historical data, searching for the gay subtext.Globe and Mail (2003)
She scours fairs and garage sales for reading material, especially Reader's Digest.New Zealand Herald (2003)
The agent then scours all sites where satellite companies might be putting their services on sale, and digitally negotiates a deal.Business Today (1998)
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