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rummager

rummager

5.3
A person or animal who searches through messy things like bins to find useful items
  • noun
  • /ˈrʌmɪdʒər/
translation icon : rebuscador
  • The rummager sifted through the trash to find any valuable items.

Examples

  • This would keep it off my street/sidewalk and prevent the "rummagers" from opening my bags and leaving it all over the sidewalk.

    Blog text (3)
  • There has been a lot of dumpster diving, not just for the rummagers themselves, but on behalf of stay-at-homes and people too class proud to go digging.

    Blog text (13)
  • I'm a big rummager.

  • Every Saturday, the rummager visited the local markets looking for discarded treasures.

  • After the party, the rummager searched through the leftover food to find something to eat.

Synonyms

scavenger
vsrummager
20 5.5

A person who searches through trash for things to reuse or sell

searches through messy or discarded things to find useful or edible items
gatherer
vsrummager
19 3.2

A person who collects wild plants and berries for a living

searches specifically through messy discarded items for useful or edible finds
forager
vsrummager
4 5.3

A person or animal that looks for food in the wild

searches through discarded or messy items, not mainly wild food sources
ragpicker
vsrummager
  • Archaic
1 9.9

A person who collects old clothes and scraps from streets to sell

searches more broadly through discarded or messy items for usefulness or food
trashman
vsrummager
  • US
1 3.3

A person who collects trash and looks for things to use again or sell

searches through messy discarded things specifically to find useful or edible items
magpie
vsrummager
1 8.1

A person who often collects small old things other people discard

searches through messy discarded things aiming to find useful or edible items
garbologist
vsrummager
  • Specialized
1 8.2

A person who looks through garbage to learn about people's lives

searches messy or discarded things mainly to find usable or edible items rather than study
gleaner
vsrummager
1 7.7

A person who carefully gathers small amounts of information or resources

searches through messy discarded items rather than patiently collecting bits over time
picker-up
vsrummager
  • Archaic
7.4

A person who collects litter from places like beaches or parks

searches inside or among messy discarded items to find useful or edible things

Antonyms

neat-freak
  • Informal
7 7.9

A person who likes to keep things very clean and tidy

How Thorough

forager
4 5.3
scavenger
20 5.5
rummager
5.3
searcher
20 2.3

Surface Forms

rummager singular
rummagers plural

Morphology

rummager = rummage (transparent) = rummage + er

Clearly formed from the verb 'rummage' with the agentive suffix '-er', meaning 'a person/animal who rummages'.

Etymology

The word rummager comes from the verb rummage, which gives a picture of turning things over to 'search', like someone looking through boxes or a messy room. So a rummager is a person or animal who looks through thrown-away or messy items to find something useful.