scrounge
/skɹaʊnd͡ʒ/
"scrounge" is a 8-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.
The verdict
“scrounge” is an uncommon English word, ranked #67,029 in English word frequency and used as a verb.
- #67,029
- frequency rank, English
- 8
- letters
According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - To hunt about, especially for something of nominal value; to scavenge or glean.
| Property | Value |
|---|---|
| Headword | scrounge |
| Language | English |
| Part of speech | Verb |
| IPA | /skɹaʊnd͡ʒ/ |
| Letters | 8 |
| Frequency rank | #67,029 |
| Misspellings tracked | 0 |
| Confusable pairs | 0 |
| Source | Wiktionary (kaikki.org) |
Where “scrounge” sits in English frequency
Spelling & Dictionary Insight
The English entry for scrounge is 8 letters long, classified as a verb, and transcribed in the International Phonetic Alphabet as /skɹaʊnd͡ʒ/. Corpus data places it at rank #67,029 in overall English word frequency, marking it as uncommon enough that many writers pause before typing it. Wiktionary records 2 distinct senses for this headword, so context determines which meaning a reader should apply.
The misspelling generator found no plausible variants for scrounge, since its letter sequence doesn't invite the usual edit-distance slips. No confusable counterpart is on file for this word, which tends to mean the word is visually distinctive enough to stand on its own.
Etymologically, the entry records: 1915, alteration of dialectal scrunge ("to search stealthily, rummage, pilfer") (1909), of uncertain origin, perhaps from dialectal scringe ("to pry about"); or perhaps related to scrouge, scrooge ("push, jostle") (1755, also Cockney slang for "a crowd"), p… The correct English form is scrounge, spelled S-C-R-O-U-N-G-E.
Definition
- 1To hunt about, especially for something of nominal value; to scavenge or glean.
- 2To obtain something of moderate or inconsequential value from another.
Etymology
1915, alteration of dialectal scrunge ("to search stealthily, rummage, pilfer") (1909), of uncertain origin, perhaps from dialectal scringe ("to pry about"); or perhaps related to scrouge, scrooge ("push, jostle") (1755, also Cockney slang for "a crowd"), probably suggestive of screw, squeeze. Popularized by the military in World War I.
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 “scrounge”
The practical upshot for anyone who landed here from a spell-check.
- The one correct English spelling is S-C-R-O-U-N-G-E - every other letter order is a misspelling in standard orthography.
- Say it as /skɹaʊnd͡ʒ/ (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
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.