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🪣 To remove by rubbing 🤕 To injure skin 💰 To collect with effort 🪵 To carve by rubbing 🩹 A small scratch 🔊 A harsh noise 🤵 A deep bow 💻 To extract online data
to scrape

to scrape

56 5.7
To get together a small amount of money with difficulty
  • verb
  • /skreɪp/
translation icon : juntar
  • I was working a job that wasn't really paying the money that I needed so I had to scrape to make ends meet.
  • scrape together
  • scrape together money
  • barely scrape by

Z, super millennials, some of us only barely scraping the what's left of the boomer money.

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Examples

  • People were scraping together money from various sources to get their loan-to-value ratios down to 80 percent.

    Academic text (2016)

  • "We are just scraping to get by, and we need our kids at home after school.

    Fiction book (1993)

  • And it's people who are trying to scrape by and who who really need the money.

  • We need to scrape whatever money we can together and I need to get out of here.

    Columbus Circle (2012)

  • They should scrape together enough cash to make this payment.

  • For the most part, they're honest, ordinary people trying to scrape a living together.

    Fiction book (2002)

  • Well, Robert, I don't know how to say this, but unless you plan on taking me on pro bono, I'm gonna have to scrape up some money.

    Barbarian (2022)

  • We need to scrape together all the money we can for the charity event.

  • After weeks of saving, he finally managed to scrape enough cash for the new laptop.

  • She had to scrape together her savings to pay for the unexpected medical bills.

Synonyms

to scrape together
vsto scrape
12 6.1

Gather small amounts of money or supplies with difficulty

emphasizes slow accumulation over time rather than one hard bout of effort
to scrape up
vsto scrape
5 4.8

Get a small amount of money or help with difficulty

highlights gradual collection over time rather than quick gain
to scrounge
vsto scrape
  • Informal
4 7.0

To get things by asking others without giving anything in return

involves effortful collecting gradually rather than seeking freebies from others
to scratch up
vsto scrape
  • Informal
5.9

Gather a small amount of money or supplies by trying hard

focuses on gathering by steady saving rather than borrowing small sums
to wrangle funds
vsto scrape
7.0

To get money by asking people and working hard

refers more to general slow collection with effort, not negotiation focus
to scrunge some money
vsto scrape
  • Slang
9.9

Get small amounts of money by asking other people or finding coins

is broader, meaning to collect slowly without relying on asking others

Antonyms

to spend
∞ 1.0

To give money to buy something or pay for services

Idioms

to scrape the bottom of the barrel
  • Informal
3 7.5

Use the least good options because nothing better is left

to bow and scrape
  • Archaic
3 9.4

Behave too politely and humbly to please someone

Phrasal Verbs

to scrape together
12 6.1

Gather small amounts of money or supplies with difficulty

to scrape by
10 5.1

To manage to live with very little money

to scrape up
5 4.8

Get a small amount of money or help with difficulty

to scrape through
  • UK
2 5.8

To barely succeed in a test or task

to scrape along
  • UK
6.9

Live with difficulty because you have little money

How Much

to accumulate
174 3.4
to raise
∞ 2.9
to scrape
56 5.7
to collect
499 1.1
to scrounge
  • Informal
12 6.8

Surface Forms

scrape infinitive
scraped past
scraped past participle
scraping present participle
scrapes third person singular

Etymology

Scrape is also used in a figurative way: imagine 'scraping' small coins together from under a sofa to make enough money. A helpful way to remember the phrase 'scrape together' is to think of gathering tiny bits with effort, which is why it means to collect money or resources with difficulty.