scouring

Plural: scourings

Noun

• The act of cleaning thoroughly, or material removed by it.
• moving over territory to search for something
  • "scouring the entire area revealed nothing"
• the act of cleaning a surface by rubbing it with a brush and soap and water
• The act of cleaning a surface by rubbing it with a brush, soap and water.
• Diarrhea. (Now used only of livestock, though also sometimes used of humans into the 1600s.)
• Erosion by water, especially in watercourses.

Verb

• examine minutely
• clean with hard rubbing
• rub hard or scrub
• rinse, clean, or empty with a liquid
• present participle and gerund of scour

Examples

• After much SCOURING of his rack, he finally spotted a bingo he’d almost missed.
• Scouring the entire area revealed nothing.

Synonyms

abrade, flush, purge, scour, scrub, scrubbing