What does scrape mean

To collect or gather, especially without regard to the quality of what is chosen. Just use whatever you can scrape together. To occupy oneself with getting laboriously. He scraped and saved until he became rich. To play awkwardly and inharmoniously on a violin or similar instrument.

To draw back the right foot along the ground or floor when making a bow. To express disapprobation of a play, etc. A broad , shallow injury left by scraping rather than a cut or a scratch.

He fell on the sidewalk and got a scrape on his knee. A fight , especially a fistfight without weapons. He got in a scrape with the school bully. An awkward set of circumstances. UK, slang A D and C or abortion ; or, a miscarriage. A shallow depression used by ground birds as a nest ; a nest scrape. To rub a surface with considerable pressure, as with an edged instrument or a hard object.

To injure the surface of by rubbing against something rough or sharp. To collect or gather slowly and with difficulty. To scrape together some money. Origin of scrape. Image credits. Word of the Day sweetheart. Blog Outsets and onsets!

Read More. November 08, To top. English Examples. Sign up for free and get access to exclusive content:. Free word lists and quizzes from Cambridge.

Tools to create your own word lists and quizzes. Word lists shared by our community of dictionary fans. Sign up now or Log in. Definitions Clear explanations of natural written and spoken English. Click on the arrows to change the translation direction. Follow us. How to use scrape in a sentence A case with a raised edge around the screen can provide a handy bumper that surrounds the display and protects it from small bumps, scrape s, and accidental trips to the floor.

A college pitcher is trying to turn the theft of his prosthetic arm into a charity drive Cindy Boren May 7, Washington Post. A hiker was lost and desperate. A stranger with an unusual hobby saved him. I scraped a pass in the exam. Webster Dictionary 0. Chambers 20th Century Dictionary 0. Alex US English. David US English.

Mark US English. Daniel British. Libby British. Mia British. Karen Australian. Hayley Australian. Natasha Australian. Veena Indian. Priya Indian. Neerja Indian.