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🔍 To search for 🤲 To get for free
to scrounge

to scrounge

4 7.0
To get things by asking others without giving anything in return
  • verb
  • /skaʊndʒ/
  • Informal
translation icon : gorronear
  • Or during halftime at football games, when my friends and I would scrounge everyone for $1.50 to buy some hot, melty pizza.
  • scrounge for money

Examples

  • All right, y'all scrounge what you can off this list, but if we're gonna do this right, we're gonna need more help.

    Mud (2013)

  • I can try and scrounge up something to help.

    Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark (2019)

  • I'll try to scrounge up a picture of that, but these got huge.

  • We can probably scrounge up a dozen.

    Midway (2019)

  • I thought maybe I'd scrounge around, get me a little change and pick me up a new shirt.

    Picnic (1955)

  • We'd be lucky to scrounge up a ride every two weeks.

    Snack Shack (2024)

  • We'd like permission to scrounge around for surplus materials.

    The Majestic (2001)

  • I'm going out to the beach and see if I can scrounge myself an outrigger canoe.

    South Sea Woman (1953)

  • Why does one artist receive the acclaim and rewards while other equally deserving artists scrounge for every crumb?

    Fiction book (1997)

  • She managed to scrounge some snacks from her friends at the party.

Synonyms

to cadge
vsto scrounge
  • Informal
1 9.8

To ask someone for something and get it without paying

includes persuading or wheedling beyond simple asking
to shnorr
vsto scrounge
  • Slang
9.9

To get things by asking people again and again, often without paying

is similar but not necessarily as persistent when seeking things
to schnorr
vsto scrounge
  • Offensive
9.9

To get things like food or rides by asking others and not paying

focuses on asking without offering rather than formal begging
to scrounge a free meal
vsto scrounge
  • Informal
7.8

To get a free meal by asking or finding a chance to eat

is broader, applying to many items not only meals
to scrunge some money
vsto scrounge
  • Slang
9.9

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

means seeking without offering rather than focusing on small amounts

Antonyms

to pay
∞ 1.0

To give money for something you buy or owe

Phrasal Verbs

to scrounge a free meal
  • Informal
7.8

To get a free meal by asking or finding a chance to eat

How Needy

to beg
153 1.0
to cadge
  • Informal
1 9.8
to scrounge
  • Informal
4 7.0
to ask
∞ 1.0
to request
∞ 1.0

Surface Forms

scrounge infinitive
scrounged past
scrounged past participle
scrounging present participle
scrounges third person singular

Etymology

Scrounge can also mean to get things by asking or persuading others, and a good image is someone asking for the little extras they need. So, to scrounge (in this sense) is to obtain things like food, money, or favors by begging or wheedling rather than paying for them.