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Definition of scab noun from the Oxford Advanced Learner's Dictionary

scab

noun
 
/skæb/
 
/skæb/
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  1. [countable] a hard dry layer that forms over and covers a wound on the skin as it gets betterTopics Health problemsc2
  2. [countable] (informal, disapproving) a worker who refuses to join a strike or takes the place of somebody on strike synonym blackleg
  3. [uncountable] a skin disease of animals
  4. [uncountable] a disease of plants, especially apples and potatoes, that causes a rough surface
    5. Word OriginMiddle English (as a noun): from Old Norse skabb; related to dialect shab (compare with shabby). The sense ‘contemptible person’ (dating from the late 16th cent.) was probably influenced by Middle Dutch schabbe ‘slut’.
See scab in the Oxford Advanced American Dictionary
Check pronunciation: scab

Nearby words

halfway
adverb
 
 
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