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Definition of scrape verb from the Oxford Advanced Learner's Dictionary

scrape

verb
 
/skreɪp/
 
/skreɪp/
Verb Forms
present simple I / you / we / they scrape
 
/skreɪp/
 
/skreɪp/
he / she / it scrapes
 
/skreɪps/
 
/skreɪps/
past simple scraped
 
/skreɪpt/
 
/skreɪpt/
past participle scraped
 
/skreɪpt/
 
/skreɪpt/
-ing form scraping
 
/ˈskreɪpɪŋ/
 
/ˈskreɪpɪŋ/
Idioms Phrasal Verbs
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    remove

  1. [transitive] to remove something from a surface by moving something sharp and hard like a knife across it
    • scrape something (+ adv./prep.) She scraped the mud off her boots.
    • We scraped away the top layer of wallpaper.
    • scrape something + adj. The kids had scraped their plates clean.
    Extra Examples
    • I scraped the carrots with a knife.
    • The wood had been scraped clean.
    Oxford Collocations Dictionaryadverb
    • carefully
    • gently
    • away
    preposition
    • against
    • along
    • on
    phrases
    • scrape something clean
    See full entry
  2. damage

  3. [transitive] to rub something by accident so that it gets damaged or hurt
    • scrape something She fell and scraped her knee.
    • scrape something + adv./prep. I scraped the side of my car on the wall.
    • Sorry, I've scraped some paint off the car.
    • The wire had scraped the skin from her fingers.
    • I scraped my elbow on the wall as I cycled past.
    Topics Health problemsc2
    Oxford Collocations Dictionaryadverb
    • carefully
    • gently
    • away
    preposition
    • against
    • along
    • on
    phrases
    • scrape something clean
    See full entry
  4. make sound

  5. [intransitive, transitive] to make an unpleasant noise by rubbing against a hard surface; to make something do this
    • (+ adv./prep.) I could hear his pen scraping across the paper.
    • Bushes scraped against the car windows.
    • We could hear her scraping away at the violin.
    • scrape something (+ adv./prep.) Don't scrape your chairs on the floor.
    • Patrick lifted the gate to prevent it from scraping along the ground.
  6. win with difficulty

  7. [transitive, intransitive] scrape (something) to manage to win or to get something with difficulty
    • The team scraped a narrow victory last year.
    • (British English) I just scraped a pass in the exam.
    • They scraped a living by playing music on the streets.
    • The government scraped home (= just won) by three votes.
  8. make hole in ground

  9. [transitive] scrape something (out) to make a hole or hollow place in the ground
    • He found a suitable place, scraped a hole and buried the bag in it.
  10. pull hair back

  11. [transitive] scrape your hair back to pull your hair tightly back, away from your face
    • Her hair was scraped back from her face in a ponytail.
  12. find on the internet

  13. [transitive] scrape something (from something) (computing) to obtain specific data from online sources using a computer program
    • I wrote a Python script to scrape customer reviews from the web pages.
    Topics Phones, email and the internetc2
  14. Word OriginOld English scrapian ‘scratch with the fingernails’, of Germanic origin, reinforced in Middle English by Old Norse skrapa or Middle Dutch schrapen ‘to scratch’.
Idioms
bow and scrape
  1. (disapproving) to be too polite to an important person in order to gain their approval
    • She was beginning to tire of all their bowing and scraping.
scrape (the bottom of) the barrel
  1. (disapproving) to have to use things or people that are not the best or most suitable because the ones that were the best or most suitable are no longer available
See scrape in the Oxford Advanced American Dictionary
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adjective
 
 
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