scavenger
/ˈskæv.ən.d͡ʒə(ɹ)/
"scavenger" is a 9-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.
The verdict
“scavenger” has 14 generated spelling variants in the English index at frequency #28,008. The variants make it a useful spelling check.
- #28,008
- frequency rank, English
- 54,294
- “S” headwords
- 14
- tracked misspellings
According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - Someone who scavenges, especially one who searches through rubbish for food or useful things.
| Property | Value |
|---|---|
| Headword | scavenger |
| Language | English |
| Part of speech | Noun |
| IPA | /ˈskæv.ən.d͡ʒə(ɹ)/ |
| Letters | 9 |
| Frequency rank | #28,008 |
| Misspellings tracked | 14 |
| Confusable pairs | 0 |
| Source | Wiktionary (kaikki.org) |
Where “scavenger” sits in English frequency
A misspelling magnet
The generator records 14 spelling variants around scavenger (IPA /ˈskæv.ən.d͡ʒə(ɹ)/), anoun. Corpus frequency is #28,008 among 54,294 “S” headwords. Wiktionary lists 5 senses, so context still picks the gloss.
Our generated misspelling index lists 14 likely wrong-spelling variants for scavenger, with forms such as "csavenger", "sacvenger", and "scaevnger". Every one of these variants traces to a single-character edit -- an added or dropped letter, a swapped consonant, or a vowel swap -- the kind of slip a spell-checker is built to catch. It is not paired with a close-neighbour confusable in our dataset, since no other headword is close enough in sound or shape to pair with it.
Etymologically, the entry records: Originally from Middle English scavager, from Anglo-Norman scawageour (“one who had to do with scavage, inspector, tax collector”), from Old Northern French *scawage, escauwage (“scavage”), Old French *scavage, escavage, alteration of escauvinghe (compare M… The correct English form is scavenger, spelled S-C-A-V-E-N-G-E-R.
Definition
- 1Someone who scavenges, especially one who searches through rubbish for food or useful things.
- 2An animal that feeds on decaying matter such as carrion.
- 3A street sweeper.
- 4A child employed to pick up loose cotton from the floor in a cotton mill.
- 5A substance used to remove impurities from the air or from a solution.
Etymology
Originally from Middle English scavager, from Anglo-Norman scawageour (“one who had to do with scavage, inspector, tax collector”), from Old Northern French *scawage, escauwage (“scavage”), Old French *scavage, escavage, alteration of escauvinghe (compare Medieval Latin scewinga, sceawinga), from Old Dutch scauwōn (“to inspect, to examinate, to look at”). Usually reinterpreted/re-analysed today as scavenge (which was originally a backformation from this word) + -er. Compare Old English sċēawung (“a showing, spectacle, examination, inspection, toll on exposure of goods”) and Dutch schouwing (“inspection”). More at show.
This word in other languages
Common misspellings
Also misspelled as:
- csavenger
- sacvenger
- scaevnger
- scavegner
- scavenegr
- scavengerr
- scavengger
- scavengre
- scavennger
- scavneger
- scavvenger
- sccavenger
- scvaenger
- sscavenger
Misspelling Pattern Breakdown
How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of scavenger - counted as single-character edits (an insertion, a deletion, or a substituted letter). The larger the bar, the easier the typo is to spot; one-edit slips are the ones that sneak past readers.
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 “scavenger”
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-R - every other letter order is a misspelling in standard orthography.
- Say it as /ˈskæv.ən.d͡ʒə(ɹ)/ (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
Same frequency band
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.