scavenger
Someone who scavenges, especially one who searches through rubbish for food or useful things.
Example
“A scavenger picked through the rubbish heap.”
Other meanings
An animal that feeds on decaying matter such as carrion.
“Vultures are natural scavengers.”
A substance used to remove impurities from the air or from a solution.
A kind of
- animal
Kinds of scavenger
- bottom-feeder
Word history
From Old Dutch "scauwōn" (to inspect, to examinate, to look at).
Where this comes from
This definition is adapted from “scavenger” on Wiktionary, by its contributors; related-word lists use Open English WordNet (CC BY 4.0, based on Princeton WordNet), published under CC BY-SA 4.0. This page is published under the same licence.