scrape
verb · noun
Simple meaning
To draw, along while exerting pressure.
Pronunciation
Say it like this:
skraypIPA pronunciation (US)
ˈskɹeɪp
This word is pronounced essentially the same in American and British English, so one transcription covers both.
IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) is a standard way of writing speech sounds.
Definition
Everyday modern meanings first, grouped by part of speech.
verb
ambitransitive
To draw (an object, especially a sharp or angular one), along (something) while exerting pressure.
transitive
To remove (something) by drawing an object along in this manner.
Bruise, cut, or injure the skin or the surface of
transitive
To injure or damage by rubbing across a surface.
Cut the surface of; wear away the surface of
transitive
To collect or gather, especially without regard to the quality of what is chosen.
noun
The sound or action of something being scraped.
A broad, shallow injury left by scraping (rather than a cut or a scratch).
Something removed by being scraped; a thin layer of something such as butter on bread.
An awkward set of circumstances.
A shallow depression used by ground birds as a nest; a nest scrape.
An intermittent shallow pond in a wetland or floodplain, often artificially created to attract birds.
Word at a Glance
- Difficulty
- C1 · Advanced (estimated)
- Frequency
- Uncommon
- Typical Use
- Primarily written
Word Aura™
How this word commonly comes across.
Aura for this meaning
This meaning: (ambitransitive) To draw (an object, especially a sharp or angular one), along (something) while exerting pressure.
Used this way, scrape is a reasonably familiar word that usually carries little praise or criticism of its own. It usually sounds natural in a wide range of settings.
- Emotional tone
- Neutral
- Formality
- Neutral
- Intensity
- Not strongly marked
- How common
- Moderately common
- Connotation
- No strong connotation
- Usage feel
- Neutral and straightforward
Word Aura describes common impressions, not a measurement. Tone changes with sentence, speaker, relationship and situation.
More ways to use scrape
- “They scraped a letter into the stone.”verb
- “The cat scraped at the armchair.”verb
- “She had scraped together enough money for college.”verb
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Common Patterns and Combinations
How this word naturally appears with others.
Word Family
Related forms, grouped by how they connect.
Inflected forms
Grammatical variations of the same word.
A fragment scraped off of something and collected.
Any of various hand tools for scraping.
Compound terms
Established multiword terms.
Manage one's existence barely.
Manage one's existence barely.
Gather (money or other resources) together over time.
More about this wordSynonyms, forms, origin
Synonyms
Sense: to draw (an object or especially a sharp
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Dictionary data from Wiktionary via the Free Dictionary API. Simple meanings, combinations and word intelligence are built from verified reference data, no AI is used to load this page.