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   scrape

   /skreɪp/

   verb

   • 1. drag or pull a hard or sharp implement across (a surface or object) so as to remove dirt or other matter: "remove the green tops from the carrots and scrape them" Similar rakedragpushbrushsweep
   • ▪ use a sharp or hard implement to remove (dirt or unwanted matter) from something: "she scraped the mud off her shoes" Similar abradegratesandsandpaperscourscratchrubfilerasp
   • ▪ apply (a hard or sharp implement) to a surface so as to remove dirt or other matter: "he scraped the long-bladed razor across the stubble on his cheek" Similar abradegratesandsandpaperscourscratchrubfilerasp
   • ▪ make (a hollow) by scraping away soil or rock: "he found a ditch, scraped a hole, and put the bag in it" Similar scoop outhollow outdig outdigexcavategouge outquarrymake
   • 2. rub or cause to rub by accident against a rough or hard surface, causing damage or injury: "he smashed into the wall and felt his teeth scrape against the plaster" Similar grazescratchabradescuffraspskinrub rawcutlaceratebarkchafestripflaywoundtechnical:excoriate
   • ▪ draw or move (something) along or over something else, making a harsh noise: "she scraped back her chair and stood up"
   • ▪ move with or make a harsh scraping sound: "she lifted the gate to prevent it scraping along the ground" Similar gratecreakgrindjarraspscratchdragrubsqueakscreechgritset someone's teeth on edge
   • ▪ play a violin tunelessly: humorous "Olivia was scraping away at her violin"
   • ▪ draw one's hair tightly back off the forehead: "her hair was scraped back into a bun"
   • ▪ spread (butter or margarine) thinly over bread: British "she became involved with scraping butter on to a piece of toast"
   • 3. narrowly pass by or through something: "there was only just room to scrape through between the tree and the edge of the stream"
   • ▪ barely manage to succeed in a particular undertaking: "Bowden scraped in with 180 votes at the last election"
   • ▪ just manage to achieve; accomplish with great effort or difficulty: "Scotland scraped a lucky home draw with Portugal"
   • ▪ collect or accumulate something with difficulty: "they could hardly scrape up enough money for one ticket, let alone two"
   • ▪ try to save as much money as possible; economize: "they had scrimped and scraped and saved for years"
   • ▪ manage to live with difficulty: "she has to scrape by on Social Security"
   • 4. copy (data) from a website using a computer program: "all search engines scrape content from sites without permission and display it on their own sites"

   noun

   • 1. an act or sound of scraping: "he heard the scrape of his mother's key in the lock" Similar grategratingcreakcreakinggrindgrindingjarjarringraspraspingscratchscratchingrubrubbingsqueaksqueakingscreechscreeching
   • ▪ an injury or mark caused by scraping: "there was a long, shallow scrape on his shin" Similar grazescratchabrasioncutlacerationwound
   • ▪ a place where soil has been scraped away, especially a shallow hollow formed in the ground by a bird during a courtship display or for nesting: "ringed plovers incubate eggs in shallow scrapes"
   • ▪ a thinly applied layer of butter or margarine on bread: British "when making sandwiches, use only the thinnest scrape of fat"
   • ▪ an obsequious bow in which one foot is drawn backwards along the ground. archaic
   • 2. a procedure of dilatation of the cervix and curettage of the uterus. informal
   • 3. an embarrassing or difficult predicament caused by one's own unwise behaviour: informal "he'd been in worse scrapes than this before now" Similar predicamentplighttight cornertight spotticklish/tricky situationproblemquandarydilemmacrisismessmuddleinformal:jamfixstewbindholehot watera pretty/fine kettle of fishspot of bothertroubledifficultystraitsdire/desperate straitsdistress

   Word Origin Old Englishscrapian ‘scratch with the fingernails’, of Germanic origin, reinforced in Middle English by Old Norse skrapa or Middle Dutch schrapen ‘to scratch’.

   Scrabble Points: 10

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