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   scour

   /skaʊə/

   verb

   • 1. clean or brighten the surface of (something) by rubbing it hard, typically with an abrasive or detergent: "she scoured the cooker"
   • ▪ remove (dirt or unwanted matter) by scouring: "use an electric toothbrush to scour off plaque"
   • ▪ (of water or a watercourse) make (a channel or pool) by flowing quickly over something and removing soil or rock: "a stream came crashing through a narrow cavern to scour out a round pool below"
   • 2. (of livestock) suffer from diarrhoea: "he went out to deal with piglets who were scouring"
   • ▪ administer a strong purgative to: archaic "he immediately proceeded to scour him with the most potent medicines"

   noun

   • 1. the action of scouring or the state of being scoured, especially by swift-flowing water: "the scour of the tide may cause lateral erosion"
   • ▪ an act of rubbing something hard to clean or brighten it: "give the floor a good scour"
   • 2. diarrhoea in livestock, especially cattle and pigs.

   Word Origin Middle English: from Middle Dutch, Middle Low German schūren, from Old French escurer, from late Latin excurare ‘clean (off)’, from ex- ‘away’ + curare ‘to clean’.

   Derivatives

   • 1. scourer noun

   Scrabble Points: 7

   • S

     1

   • C

     3

   • O

     1

   • U

     1

   • R

     1

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