scour

Plural: scours

Noun

a place that is scoured (especially by running water)
The removal of sediment caused by swiftly moving water.
A place scoured out by running water, as in the bed of a stream below a waterfall.
A place where wool is washed to remove grease and impurities prior to processing.

Verb

Verb Forms: scoured, scouring, scours

To clean or polish vigorously by rubbing.
examine minutely
- "The police scoured the country for the fugitive"
clean with hard rubbing
rub hard or scrub
- "scour the counter tops"
rinse, clean, or empty with a liquid
To clean, polish, or wash (something) by rubbing and scrubbing it vigorously, frequently with an abrasive or cleaning agent.
To remove debris and dirt (from something) by purging; to sweep along or off by a current of water.
To clear the digestive tract (of an animal) by administering medication that induces defecation or vomiting; to purge.
To (cause livestock to) suffer from diarrhoea or dysentery.
To cleanse (something) without rubbing.
To search an area thoroughly.
To run with speed; to scurry.
To move swiftly over; to brush along.

Examples

A search engine will scour the web for you.
Bridge scour may scoop out scour holes and compromise the integrity of the structure.
He scoured the burnt food from the pan.
If a lamb is scouring, do not delay treatment.
She began to SCOUR the dictionary, looking for a valid word for her letters.
They scoured the scene of the crime for clues.
to scour a horse

Origin / Etymology

From Middle English scǒuren (“to polish, scour; to clean; to beat, whip”), from Middle Dutch scuren, schuren (“to clean; to polish”) or Middle Low German schǖren, of uncertain origin but probably from Old French escurer, from Medieval Latin scūrō, escūrō, excūrō (“to clean off”), from ex- (“thoroughly”) + cūrō (“to arrange, see to, take care of”), from cūra (“care, concern”) (from Proto-Indo-European *kʷeys- (“to heed”)) + -ō.
The word is cognate with Danish skure, Middle High German schüren, schiuren (modern German scheuern (“to scour, scrub; to chafe”)), Norwegian skura (“to scrub”), Swedish skura, Catalan escurar.

Synonyms

abrade, flush, purge, scrub

Scrabble Score: 7

scour: valid Scrabble (US) TWL Word
scour: valid Scrabble Word in Merriam-Webster MW Dictionary
scour: valid Scrabble Word in International Collins CSW Dictionary

Words With Friends Score: 9

scour: valid Words With Friends Word