What does "scrape" mean?
A broad, shallow injury left by scraping (rather than a cut or a scratch).
Scrape
/skɹeɪp/ noun, verb, slang
noun, verb, slang ·Very common ·Middle school level
Meaning at a glance
- Primary sense: A broad, shallow injury left by scraping (rather than a cut or a scratch).
- Grammar: scrape is listed as noun, verb, slang.
- Nearest alternatives: abrasion, scratch, ablate, ablation.
- Useful contrasts: buff, ease, polish.
- Usage evidence: Would you scrape that rusty pan?
How to use "scrape"
- Start with the primary definition, then check the part of speech before placing the word in a sentence.
- Compare nearby synonyms to make sure "scrape" carries the exact meaning, tone, and strength you need.
- Use the example sentence as a context check. If your sentence uses the word differently, confirm that the grammar still fits.
Meaning check
- Does the word fit the sentence's grammar?
- Does it match the intended tone rather than only the dictionary definition?
- Would a simpler synonym be clearer for the reader?
- Is there enough surrounding context to prevent ambiguity?
Source and review context
This entry combines structured lexical data with WordToolSet review checks. Definitions, examples, synonyms, and usage notes may come from different source tables, so the page is designed to show evidence from more than one angle before you rely on "scrape" in a final draft.
If a word has several senses, prefer the sense that matches your sentence's grammar and surrounding context. A correct definition can still be the wrong choice when the sentence needs a different register, emphasis, or level of specificity.
Before you rely on this definition
Read the first definition as a starting point, then check the example, synonyms, and part of speech before treating "scrape" as the right word for your sentence.
If your draft is formal, technical, persuasive, or sensitive, compare "scrape" with a nearby alternative so the final choice matches both meaning and reader expectation.
Compare nearby meanings
- Use synonyms when you need a softer, stronger, simpler, or more specific word.
- Use antonyms to check the boundary of the meaning and avoid accidental contrast.
- Use the example sentence to confirm the word behaves naturally in context.
- Keep the original wording when a replacement adds complexity without improving precision.
Definition decision workflow
1. Identify the role
Check whether "scrape" is acting as noun, verb, slang in your sentence. A definition is only useful when the grammar matches the way the word is being used.
2. Test the nearest option
Compare it with "abrasion" and other nearby choices to see whether the sentence needs a softer, stronger, or more familiar word.
3. Confirm with context
Use the example sentence below as an evidence check, then read your own sentence out loud to catch tone or rhythm problems.
Review note: Definition pages are checked for source coverage, sentence evidence, synonym support, and editorial insight before they are treated as approval-ready pages. If the evidence is too thin, the page remains available to users but is kept out of the approval-facing indexed inventory.
Final meaning check
Before publishing a sentence with "scrape", ask whether the word helps the reader understand the idea faster. A precise word should reduce confusion, not simply make the sentence look more polished.
When the definition, synonym evidence, and example context point in the same direction, the word is usually a safer choice. When they conflict, revise the sentence or choose a clearer alternative.
Definitions
Noun
- 1 A broad, shallow injury left by scraping (rather than a cut or a scratch). countable, uncountable
"He fell on the sidewalk and got a scrape on his knee."
- 2 an indication of damage wordnet
- 3 The sound or action of something being scraped. countable, uncountable
"For a long while, the only sounds in the café were the scrapes of forks against old white plates and occasional slurps from coffee mugs."
- 4 a deep bow with the foot drawn backwards (indicating excessive humility) wordnet
- 5 Something removed by being scraped; a thin layer of something such as butter on bread. countable, uncountable
"A little solace came at tea time, in the shape of a double ration of bread—a whole, instead of a half-slice—with the delicious addition of a thin scrape of butter: […]"
Show 12 more definitions
- 6 a harsh noise made by scraping wordnet
- 7 A fight, especially a fistfight without weapons. countable, slang, uncountable
"He got in a scrape with the school bully."
- 8 an abraded area where the skin is torn or worn off wordnet
- 9 An awkward set of circumstances. countable, uncountable
"I'm in a bit of a scrape — I've no money to buy my wife a birthday present."
- 10 A D and C or abortion; or, a miscarriage. British, countable, slang, uncountable
"1972, in U.S. Senate Subcommittee to Investigate the Administration of the Internal Security Act and Other Internal Security Laws, Abuse of psychiatry for political repression in the Soviet Union. Hearing, Ninety-second Congress, second session, United States Government Printing Office, page 127, It’s quite possible, in view of the diagnosis ‘danger of miscarriage’, that they might drag me off, give me a scrape and then say that the miscarriage began itself."
- 11 A shallow depression used by ground birds as a nest; a nest scrape. countable, uncountable
"We knew from U. Weidmann’s work (1956) that Black-headed Gulls could be prevented from laying by offering them eggs on the empty scrape veil before […]"
- 12 A shallow pit dug as a hideout. countable, uncountable
"In between rounds, he dug a scrape for himself with his entrenching tool."
- 13 A shave. UK, countable, slang, uncountable
"A'm goin to the barber's for a scrape."
- 14 Cheap butter. UK, obsolete, slang, uncountable
- 15 Butter laid on bread in the thinnest possible manner, as though laid on and scraped off again. UK, obsolete, slang, uncountable
"“Got a nice bit of haddock for tonight. Thought I might do it with a poached egg, bit of pepper, bread and scrape”"
- 16 A diminutive of the bend (especially of the bend sinister) which is half its width. countable, uncountable
"Alternative form: scarpe"
- 17 An intermittent shallow pond in a wetland or floodplain, often artificially created to attract birds. countable, uncountable
Verb
- 1 To draw (an object, especially a sharp or angular one), along (something) while exerting pressure. ambitransitive
"She scraped the wooden plate with her fingernails."
- 2 scratch repeatedly wordnet
- 3 To remove (something) by drawing an object along in this manner. transitive
"Scrape the chewing gum off with a knife."
- 4 cut the surface of; wear away the surface of wordnet
- 5 To injure or damage by rubbing across a surface. transitive
"She tripped on a rock and scraped her knee."
Show 11 more definitions
- 6 bruise, cut, or injure the skin or the surface of wordnet
- 7 To barely manage to achieve or attain. transitive
"I scraped a pass in the exam."
- 8 gather (money or other resources) together over time wordnet
- 9 To collect or gather, especially without regard to the quality of what is chosen. transitive
"Just use whatever you can scrape together."
- 10 make by scraping wordnet
- 11 To extract data by automated means from a format not intended to be machine-readable, such as a screenshot or a formatted web page. transitive
"They didn't provide an API, so I simply scraped their website."
- 12 bend the knees and bow in a servile manner wordnet
- 13 To occupy oneself with getting laboriously. intransitive
"He scraped and saved until he became rich."
- 14 To play awkwardly and inharmoniously on a violin or similar instrument. ambitransitive
"Some people covered their ears when he started to scrape his violin."
- 15 To draw back the right foot along the ground or floor when making a bow. intransitive
"Yossarian went along in Milo Minderbinder's speeding M & M staff car to police headquarters to meet a swarthy, untidy police commissioner with a narrow black mustache and unbuttoned tunic who was fiddling with a stout woman with warts and two chins when they entered his office and who greeted Milo with warm surprise and bowed and scraped in obscene servility as though Milo were some elegant marquis."
- 16 To express disapprobation of (a play, etc.) or to silence (a speaker) by drawing the feet back and forth upon the floor; usually with down.
"When the debate was resumed, the tide ran so strongly against the accused that his friends were coughed and scraped down."
Example
"Would you scrape that rusty pan?"
Common questions
What is a synonym for "scrape"?
Common synonyms include: abrasion, scratch, ablate, ablation, abrade, abrade.
How do you use "scrape" in a sentence?
Would you scrape that rusty pan?
How do you pronounce "scrape"?
Pronounced /skɹeɪp/.
Etymology
From Middle English scrapen, from Old Norse skrapa (“to scrape, scratch”) and Old English scrapian (“to scrape, scratch”), both from Proto-Germanic *skrapōną, *skrepaną (“to scrape, scratch”), from Proto-Indo-European *skrebʰ- (“to engrave”). Cognate with Dutch schrapen (“to scrape”), schrappen (“to strike through; to cancel; to scrap”), schrabben (“to scratch”), German schrappen (“to scrape”), Danish skrabe (“to scrape”), Icelandic skrapa (“to scrape”), Walloon screper (“to scrape”), Latin scribō (“dig with a pen, draw, write”).