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Glite Dictionary
🤢 Despicable people 🦠 A dirty layer 🥄 To remove impurities 🦠 To form a layer
to scum

to scum

6.6
To form a dirty layer on the surface of a liquid
  • verb
  • /skʌm/
translation icon : cubrirse de espuma
  • The water in the bucket scummed quickly after being left outside.

Examples

  • Don't let the milk scum while it heats!

  • The pond scums over in the summer.

  • After several hot days, the pond scummed over with green algae.

  • If you leave the soup uncovered, it may scum on the surface.

  • The pond began to scum over after days of hot weather.

  • As the water cooled, it started to scum with a green film on top.

  • You need to let the stew simmer longer, or it will scum at the surface.

Synonyms

to slime
vsto scum
13 6.5

To cover something with a thick slippery substance

forms a thin layer specifically on a liquid surface

Antonyms

to clear
∞ 1.5

To remove people or things from a place

Idioms

scum of the earth
  • Offensive
9 8.7

A cruel, dishonest person that many people hate

Compounds

pond scum
2 5.4

A green slippery layer of tiny plants that floats on the surface of still water

scum bag
  • Offensive
1 8.9

A very bad person who treats other people cruelly

pond-scum parasite
  • Specialized
9.9

A small fungus that lives on and harms algae in ponds

How Scummy

to scum
6.6
to film over
1 7.3

Surface Forms

scum infinitive
scummed past
scummed past participle
scumming present participle
scums third person singular

Etymology

The verb scum also describes when a liquid 'forms a scum' on its surface, from the same old word for 'foam'. So when a pond or soup scums, it becomes covered by a floating, dirty layer.