scavenge
verb
[ ˈskavɪn(d)ʒ ]
• search for and collect (anything usable) from discarded waste.
• "people sell junk scavenged from the garbage"
Similar:
rummage,
search,
hunt,
look,
forage,
root about,
root around,
scratch about,
scratch around,
grub about,
grub around,
poozle,
mudlark,
• remove (combustion products) from an internal combustion engine cylinder on the return stroke of the piston.
• "solid lead deposits of combustion would be scavenged from the engine"
• combine with and remove (molecules, groups, etc.) from a particular medium.
• "chlorine molecules can scavenge ozone at a very fast rate"
Origin:
mid 17th century (in the sense ‘clean out (dirt)’): back-formation from scavenger.
