skreɪp v. & n. --v. 1 tr. a
move a
hard or
sharp edge across (a surface),
esp. to
make something smooth. b
apply (a hard or sharp edge) in
this way. 2 tr. (foll. by
away,
off, etc.)
remove (a
stain,
projection, etc.) by
scraping. 3 tr. a rub (a surface) harshly
against another. b
scratch or
damage by scraping. 4 tr. make (a hollow) by scraping. 5 a tr.
draw or move
with a
sound of, or resembling, scraping. b intr.
emit or
produce such a sound. c tr. produce such a sound
from. 6 intr. (often foll. by
along,
by,
through, etc.) move or pass along
while almost touching close or surrounding features, obstacles, etc. (the
car scraped through
the narrow lane). 7 tr.
just manage to
achieve (a
living, an
examination pass, etc.). 8 intr. (often foll. by by, through) a
barely manage. b pass an examination etc. with
difficulty. 9 tr. (foll. by
together, up)
contrive to
bring or
provide;
amass with difficulty. 10 intr. be
economical. 11 intr. draw
back a
foot in
making a
clumsy bow. 12 tr.
clear (a ship's bottom) of barnacles etc. 13 tr. completely clear (a plate) of
food. 14 tr. (foll. by back) draw (the hair) tightly back off the
forehead. --n. 1 the
act or sound of scraping. 2 a scraped
place (on the
skin etc.). 3 a thinly
applied layer of
butter etc. on
bread. 4 the scraping of a foot in bowing. 5 colloq. an
awkward predicament, esp. resulting from an
escapade. øscrape
acquaintance with contrive to
get to
know (a person). scrape the
barrel colloq. be reduced to one's last resources. [ME f. ON skrapa or MDu. schrapen]
