scour

• POS: Noun, Verb (usu participle), Verb (intransitive), Verb (transitive)

CIDE DICTIONARY

scour, v. t. [Akin to LG. schÜren, D. schuren, schueren, G. scheuern, Dan. skure; Sw. skura; all possibly fr. LL. escurare, fr. L. ex + curare to take care. Cf. Cure.].

•  To rub hard with something rough, as sand or Bristol brick, especially for the purpose of cleaning; to clean by friction; to make clean or bright; to cleanse from grease, dirt, etc., as articles of dress.  [1913 Webster]
•  To purge; as, to scour a horse.  [1913 Webster]
•  To remove by rubbing or cleansing; to sweep along or off; to carry away or remove, as by a current of water; -- often with off or away.  [1913 Webster]

  "[I will] stain my favors in a bloody mask,
  Which, washed away, shall scour my shame with it."  [1913 Webster]
•  To pass swiftly over; to brush along; to traverse or search thoroughly; as, to scour the coast.  [1913 Webster]

  "Not so when swift Camilla scours the plain."  [1913 Webster]
•  To cleanse or clear, as by a current of water; to flush.

  "If my neighbor ought to scour a ditch."  [Webster 1913 Suppl.]

Scouring barrel, a tumbling barrel. See under Tumbling. -- Scouring cinder (Metal.), a basic slag, which attacks the lining of a shaft furnace. Raymond. -- Scouring rush. (Bot.) See Dutch rush, under Dutch. -- Scouring stock (Woolen Manuf.), a kind of fulling mill.

scour, v. i. 

•  To clean anything by rubbing.  Shak.  [1913 Webster]
•  To cleanse anything.  [1913 Webster]

  "Warm water is softer than cold, for it scoureth better."  [1913 Webster]
•  To be purged freely; to have a diarrhœa.  [1913 Webster]
•  To run swiftly; to rove or range in pursuit or search of something; to scamper.  [1913 Webster]

  "So four fierce coursers, starting to the race,
  Scour through the plain, and lengthen every pace."  [1913 Webster]

scour, n. 

•  Diarrhœa or dysentery among cattle.  [1913 Webster]
•  The act of scouring.  [Webster 1913 Suppl.]
•  A place scoured out by running water, as in the bed of a stream below a fall.

  "If you catch the two sole denizens [trout] of a particular scour, you will find another pair installed in their place to-morrow."  [Webster 1913 Suppl.]

OXFORD DICTIONARY

scour, v. & n.
--v.tr.
1 a cleanse or brighten by rubbing, esp. with soap, chemicals, sand, etc. b (usu. foll. by away, off, etc.) clear (rust, stains, reputation, etc.) by rubbing, hard work, etc. (scoured the slur from his name).
2 (of water, or a person with water) clear out (a pipe, channel, etc.) by flushing through.
3 hist. purge (the bowels) drastically.
--n.
1 the act or an instance of scouring; the state of being scoured, esp. by a swift water current (the scour of the tide).
2 diarrhoea in cattle.
3 a substance used for scouring.

Idiom

scouring-rush any of various horsetail plants with a rough siliceous coating used for polishing wood etc.

Derivative

scourer n.

scour, v.
1 tr. hasten over (an area etc.) searching thoroughly (scoured the streets for him; scoured the pages of the newspaper).
2 intr. range hastily esp. in search or pursuit.

Etymology

ME: orig. unkn.

THESAURUS

scour

ablate, abrade, abrase, baptize, bark, bath, bathe, beat, beat the bushes, beeline, bite, blow, blow out, bolt, buff, bullet, burnish, career, chafe, clean, clean out, cleanse, clear, clear away, clear off, clear out, clear the decks, comb, corrode, course, cover, dart, dash, defecate, deplete, do, douche, drain, eat, eat away, eliminate, empty, empty out, erase, erode, evacuate, exhaust, fan, ferret out, file, find, finish, fleet, fling, flit, flush, flush out, fly, forage, fray, frazzle, fret, furbish, gall, gargle, glance, glaze, gloss, gnaw, gnaw away, go over, grate, graze, grind, grub, haste, hasten, hie, highball, holystone, hump, hump it, hurry, hurtle, irrigate, lather, launder, lave, look, look all over, look everywhere, look for, luster, make haste, measure, mop, mop up, overpass, pass over, pass through, patrol, perambulate, peregrinate, pererrate, ply, polish, post, purge, race, rake, range, range over, ransack, rasp, raze, reconnoiter, remove, rifle, rinse, rinse out, ritually immerse, rocket, rout, rub, rub away, rub off, rub out, rummage, rush, scamper, scoot, scour out, scour the country, scout, scramble, scrape, scrub, scrub up, scud, scuff, scurry, scuttle, search, search high heaven, seek, shake, shake down, shampoo, shine, shoot, shower, skedaddle, skin, sleek, slick, slick down, sluice, sluice out, smoke, soap, speed, sponge, step on it, swab, sweep, sweep out, syringe, tear, toivel, toss, track, transit, travel over, travel through, traverse, tub, turn inside out, turn upside down, unclog, unfoul, varnish, vent, void, voyage, wash, wash out, wash up, wax, wear, wear away

ROGET THESAURUS

scour

Cleanness

VB be clean, render clean, clean, cleanse, mundify, rinse, wring, flush, full, wipe, mop, sponge, scour, swab, scrub, brush up, wash, lave, launder, buck, absterge, deterge, decrassify, clear, purify, depurate, despumate, defecate, purge, expurgate, elutriate, lixiviate, edulcorate, clarify, refine, rack, filter, filtrate, drain, strain, disinfect, fumigate, ventilate, deodorize, whitewash, castrate, emasculate, sift, winnow, pick, weed, comb, rake, brush, sweep, rout out, clear out, sweep out, make a clean sweep of.

Velocity

VB move quickly, trip, fisk, speed, hie, hasten, post, spank, scuttle, scud, scuddle, scour, scour the plain, scamper, run like mad, beat it, fly, race, run a race, cut away, shot, tear, whisk, zoom, swoosh, sweep, skim, brush, cut along, bowl along, barrel along, barrel, scorch, burn up the track, rush, dash on, dash off, dash forward, bolt, trot, gallop, amble, troll, bound, flit, spring, dart, boom, march in quick time, march in double time, ride hard, get over the ground, hurry, accelerate, put on, quicken, quicken one's pace, mend one's pace, clap spurs to one's horse, make haste, make rapid strides, make forced marches, make the best of one's way, put one's best leg foremost, stir one's stumps, wing one's way, set off at a score, carry sail, crowd sail, go off like a shot, go like a shot, go ahead, gain ground, outstrip the wind, fly on the wings of the wind, keep up with, keep pace with, outstrip, outmarch.

Friction

VB rub, scratch, scrape, scrub, slide, fray, rasp, graze, curry, scour, polish, rub out, wear down, gnaw, file, grind, set one's teeth on edge, rosin.