scavenge
/ˈskæv.ɪndʒ/
"scavenge" is a 8-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.
The verdict
“scavenge” is uncommon English (frequency #52,615 among 54,294 “S” headwords), classed as a verb. The kind of spelling people second-guess.
- #52,615
- frequency rank, English
- 54,294
- “S” headwords
According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - To collect and remove refuse, or to search through refuse, carrion, or abandoned items for useful material.
| Property | Value |
|---|---|
| Headword | scavenge |
| Language | English |
| Part of speech | Verb |
| IPA | /ˈskæv.ɪndʒ/ |
| Letters | 8 |
| Frequency rank | #52,615 |
| Misspellings tracked | 0 |
| Confusable pairs | 0 |
| Source | Wiktionary (kaikki.org) |
Where “scavenge” sits in English frequency
Rare enough to double-check
scavenge is uncommon English at frequency #52,615 among 54,294 “S” headwords, classed as averb, transcribed /ˈskæv.ɪndʒ/. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. 4 senses are on record.
scavenge has no tracked misspelling variants, typically a sign the spelling maps closely to how the word sounds. Our dataset records no confusable match here, suggesting its spelling stands apart enough that readers rarely confuse it with something else.
Etymologically, the entry records: Back-formation from scavenger. The correct English form is scavenge, spelled S-C-A-V-E-N-G-E.
Definition
- 1To collect and remove refuse, or to search through refuse, carrion, or abandoned items for useful material.
- 2To remove unwanted material from something, especially to purify molten metal by removing impurities.
- 3To expel the exhaust gases from the cylinder of an internal combustion engine, and draw in air for the next cycle.
- 4To feed on carrion or refuse.
Etymology
Back-formation from scavenger.
This word in other languages
Definitions, pronunciation, and etymology for this entry are drawn from Wiktionary via the kaikki.org structured extract (CC BY-SA); frequency ordering uses the FrequencyWords open word-frequency list (2018 English corpus, MIT). See the methodology for how each field is sourced and updated.
Frequently Asked Questions
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Using “scavenge”
The practical upshot for anyone who landed here from a spell-check.
- The one correct English spelling is S-C-A-V-E-N-G-E - every other letter order is a misspelling in standard orthography.
- Say it as /ˈskæv.ɪndʒ/ (IPA); tap the speaker on the pronunciation badge to hear it where audio exists.
- Browse more English words and confusable pairs in the same reference. English words
Other uncommon English words near this rank
Data Source
Wiktionary (via kaikki.org), licensed under CC BY-SA & GFDL. Word ordering uses an open word-frequency list; misspelling variants are generated by edit-distance from the correct headword.