| 单词 | scavenger |
| 释义 | scavenger (once / 6274 pages) n Ever catch a raccoon in your garbage can? The critter is a scavenger, digging around for whatever it can find to eat. In fact, anything or anybody searching for and collecting what others have tossed away is a scavenger. Originally the Middle English word skavager referred to a customs collector who collected scavage, or a toll on foreign goods brought in to sell. In the late 14th Century, scavengers were people hired to clean the streets. Later, the word was used for animals who ate decaying creatures. Later still, the "scavenger hunt" became popular as a game where people have to find items on a list. Anyone who hunts for and collects castoffs could be called a scavenger. WORD FAMILYscavenger: scavengers+/scavenge: scavenged, scavenger, scavenges, scavenging USAGE EXAMPLESThe tours will be on winter hiatus Dec. 12 through Jan. 31, then resume with a themed scavenger hunt in February. Washington Post(Nov 27, 2016) Trying to find and update your phone number at every place that stores it is a scavenger hunt that most people will lose. Los Angeles Times(Nov 26, 2016) Some investigators believe scavengers may have looted the wrecks to obtain scrap metal. Seattle Times(Nov 23, 2016) 1n someone who collects things that have been discarded by others Syn|Hyper magpie, pack rat hoarder a person who accumulates things and hides them away for future use 2n any animal that feeds on refuse and other decaying organic matter Hypo|Hyper bottom-feeder a scavenger that feeds low on the food chain animal, animate being, beast, brute, creature, fauna a living organism characterized by voluntary movement 3n a chemical agent that is added to a chemical mixture to counteract the effects of impurities Hyper chemical agent an agent that produces chemical reactions |
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