Scrape

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

CIDE DICTIONARY

Scrape, v. t. [Icel. skrapa; akin to Sw. skrapa, Dan. skrabe, D. schrapen, schrabben, G. schrappen, and prob. to E. sharp.].

•  To rub over the surface of (something) with a sharp or rough instrument; to rub over with something that roughens by removing portions of the surface; to grate harshly over; to abrade; to make even, or bring to a required condition or form, by moving the sharp edge of an instrument breadthwise over the surface with pressure, cutting away excesses and superfluous parts; to make smooth or clean; as, to scrape a bone with a knife; to scrape a metal plate to an even surface.  [1913 Webster]
•  To remove by rubbing or scraping (in the sense above).  [1913 Webster]

  "I will also scrape her dust from her, and make her like the top of a rock."  [1913 Webster]
•  To collect by, or as by, a process of scraping; to gather in small portions by laborious effort; hence, to acquire avariciously and save penuriously; -- often followed by together or up; as, to scrape money together.  [1913 Webster]

  "The prelatical party complained that, to swell a number the nonconformists did not choose, but scrape, subscribers."  [1913 Webster]
•  To express disapprobation of, as a play, or to silence, as a speaker, by drawing the feet back and forth upon the floor; -- usually with down.  Macaulay.  [1913 Webster]

  "He tried to scrape acquaintance with her, but failed ignominiously."  [1913 Webster]

To scrape acquaintance, to seek acquaintance otherwise than by an introduction. Farquhar.

Scrape, v. i. 

•  To rub over the surface of anything with something which roughens or removes it, or which smooths or cleans it; to rub harshly and noisily along.  [1913 Webster]
•  To occupy one's self with getting laboriously; as, he scraped and saved until he became rich.  Shak.  [1913 Webster]
•  To play awkwardly and inharmoniously on a violin or like instrument.  [1913 Webster]
•  To draw back the right foot along the ground or floor when making a bow.  [1913 Webster]

Scrape, n. 

•  The act of scraping; also, the effect of scraping, as a scratch, or a harsh sound; as, a noisy scrape on the floor; a scrape of a pen.  [1913 Webster]
•  A drawing back of the right foot when bowing; also, a bow made with that accompaniment.  H. Spencer.  [1913 Webster]
•  A disagreeable and embarrassing predicament out of which one can not get without undergoing, as it were, a painful rubbing or scraping; a perplexity; a difficulty.  [1913 Webster]

  "The too eager pursuit of this his old enemy through thick and thin has led him into many of these scrapes."  [1913 Webster]

OXFORD DICTIONARY

Scrape, 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.

Idiom

scrape acquaintance with contrive to get to know (a person). scrape the barrel colloq. be reduced to one's last resources.

Etymology

ME f. ON skrapa or MDu. schrapen

THESAURUS

Scrape

ablate, ablation, abrade, abrase, abrasion, abrasive, accumulate, aggregate, amass, assemble, attrition, autolithograph, baffle, bafflement, bark, be a printmaker, belch, bend, bend the knee, bend the neck, bending the knee, bewilderment, bind, blare, blat, blemish, bloody, bob, bob a curtsy, bob down, bore, bother, bow, bow and scrape, bow down, bow the head, bowing and scraping, box, bray, break, bruise, brush, brush by, buffing, burn, burnishing, burr, burrow, buzz, cackle, caress, carve, caw, chafe, chafing, character, check, chip, chirr, chisel, clang, clangor, clank, clash, claw, clutch, come in contact, compile, complication, concussion, confoundment, confusion, contact, cope, corner, crack, crackle, craunch, craze, crease, cribble, croak, crosshatch, crump, crunch, curtsy, cut, damage, delve, detrition, difficulty, dig, dig out, dike, dilemma, dipping the colors, discomfiture, discomposure, disconcert, disconcertedness, disconcertion, disconcertment, disturbance, dredge, dredge up, dressing, drill, drive, economize, embarrassing position, embarrassment, enchase, enforce economies, engrave, enigma, erase, erasure, erode, erosion, excavate, fall down before, fiddle, file, filing, fine how-do-you-do, fix, flash burn, fracture, fray, frazzle, fret, fretting, furrow, gall, galling, garner, gash, gather, genuflect, genuflection, get along, get by, get hold of, glance, glean, gnaw, gnaw away, gouge, gouge out, grate, grave, graze, grazing, grind, grinding, groan, groove, grovel, growl, grub, grumble, hatch, hell to pay, hit, hobble, hole, homage, hot water, how-do-you-do, hurt, husband, imbroglio, impinge, incise, incision, inclination, injure, injury, inscribe, jam, jangle, jar, keep within compass, kiss, kneel, kneeling, kowtow, lacerate, laceration, lesion, limation, line, lithograph, lower, lower oneself, maim, make a leg, make ends meet, make mincemeat of, make obeisance, make prints, making a leg, manage, mark, marshal, maul, mess, mine, mix, morass, mortal wound, muddle, muster, mutilate, mutilation, mystery, nod, nonplus, nudge, obeisance, obsequiousness, osculate, parlous straits, pass, perplexity, perturbation, pickle, pierce, pile up, pinch, play violin, plight, polishing, position, pother, predicament, presenting arms, pretty pass, pretty pickle, pretty predicament, print, problem, prostration, puncture, put something aside, puzzle, puzzlement, quagmire, quandary, quarry, quicksand, rasp, rasping, raze, remove, rend, rent, reverence, riddle, rip, rub, rub away, rub off, rub out, rubbing away, run, rupture, salaam, salutation, salute, sandblasting, sanding, sap, savage, save, save up, saw, scald, scoop, scoop out, scorch, score, scotch, scour, scouring, scrabble, scranch, scrape along, scrape and save, scraping, scratch, scratching, screw, scrimp, scrub, scrubbing, scrunch, scuff, sculpture, second-degree burn, servility, shave, shining, shovel, sideswipe, sink, situation, skim, skimp, skin, skirt, slash, slit, slough, smoothing, snarl, snore, sore, spade, spare, spot, sprain, squeak by, squeeze, stab, stab wound, stack up, standing at attention, stew, stick, sticky wicket, stint, stipple, strain, strait, straits, struggle, submission, submissiveness, survive, swamp, sweep, tear, third-degree burn, tight spot, tight squeeze, tightrope, toady, tool, touch, touch lightly, touch upon, trauma, traumatize, trench, tricky spot, trouble, trough, tunnel, twang, unassuredness, unholy mess, upset, wear, wear away, wearing away, wound, wounds immedicable, wrench

ROGET THESAURUS

Scrape

Subtraction

VB subduct, subtract, deduct, deduce, bate, retrench, remove, withdraw, take from, take away, detract, garble, mutilate, amputate, detruncate, cut off, cut away, cut out, abscind, excise, pare, thin, prune, decimate, abrade, scrape, file, geld, castrate, eliminate, diminish, curtail, deprive of, weaken.

Difficulty

N difficulty, hardness, impracticability, tough work, hard work, uphill work, hard task, Herculean task, Augean task, task of Sisyphus, Sisyphean labor, tough job, teaser, rasper, dead lift, dilemma, embarrassment, deadlock, perplexity, intricacy, entanglement, complexity, cross fire, awkwardness, delicacy, ticklish card to play, knot, Gordian knot, dignus vindice nodus, net, meshes, maze, coil, crooked path, involvement, nice point, delicate point, subtle point, knotty point, vexed question, vexata quaestio, poser, puzzle, paradox, hard nut to crack, nut to crack, bone to pick, crux, pons asinorum, where the shoe pinches, nonplus, quandary, strait, pass, pinch, pretty pass, stress, brunt, critical situation, crisis, trial, rub, emergency, exigency, scramble, scrape, hobble, slough, quagmire, hot water, hornet's nest, sea of troubles, peck of troubles, pretty kettle of fish, pickle, stew, imbroglio, mess, ado, false position, set fast, stand, standstill, deadlock, dead set, fix, horns of a dilemma, cul de sac, hitch, stumbling block, crab, curmudgeon, difficult, not easy, hard, tough, troublesome, toilsome, irksome, operose, laborious, onerous, arduous, Herculean, formidable, sooner said than done, more easily said than done, easier said than done, difficult to deal with, hard to deal with, ill-conditioned, crabbed, crabby, not to be handled with kid gloves, not made with rose water, awkward, unwieldy, unmanageable, intractable, stubborn, perverse, refractory, plaguy, trying, thorny, rugged, knotted, knotty, invious, pathless, trackless, labyrinthine, intricate, complicated, impracticable, not feasible, desperate, embarrassing, perplexing, delicate, ticklish, critical, beset with difficulties, full of difficulties, surrounded by difficulties, entangled by difficulties, encompassed with difficulties, under a difficulty, in a box, in difficulty, in hot water, in the suds, in a cleft stick, in a fix, in the wrong box, in a scrape, in deep water, in a fine pickle, in extremis, between two stools, between Scylla and Charybdis, surrounded by shoals, surrounded by breakers, surrounded by quicksands, at cross purposes, not out of the wood, reduced to straits, hard pressed, sorely pressed, run hard, pinched, put to it, straitened, hard up, hard put to it, hard set, put to one's shifts, puzzled, at a loss, at the end of one's tether, at the end of one's rope, at one's wit's end, at a nonplus, at a standstill, graveled, nonplused, nonplussed, stranded, aground, stuck fast, set fast, up a tree, at bay, aux abois, driven into a corner, driven from pillar to post, driven to extremity, driven to one's wit's end, driven to the wall, au bout de son Latin, out of one's depth, thrown out, accomplished with difficulty, hard-fought, hard-earned, with difficulty, with much ado, barely, hardly, uphill, against the stream, against the grain, d rebours, invita Minerva, in the teeth of, at a pinch, upon a pinch, at long odds, against long odds, ay there's the rub, hic labor hoc opus, things are come to a pretty pass, ab inconvenienti, ad astra per aspera, acun chemin de fleurs ne conduit a la gloire.

Failure

N failure, nonsuccess, nonfulfillment, dead failure, successlessness, abortion, miscarriage, brutum fulmen, labor in vain, no go, inefficacy, inefficaciousness, vain attempt, ineffectual attempt, abortive attempt, abortive efforts, flash in the pan, lame and impotent conclusion, frustration, slip 'twixt cup and lip, blunder, fault, omission, miss, oversight, slip, trip, stumble, claudication, footfall, false step, wrong step, faux pas, titubation, b_evue, faute, lurch, botchery, scrape, mess, fiasco, breakdown, flunk, mishap, split, collapse, smash, blow, explosion, repulse, rebuff, defeat, rout, overthrow, discomfiture, beating, drubbing, quietus, nonsuit, subjugation, checkmate, stalemate, fool's mate, fall, downfall, ruin, perdition, wreck, deathblow, bankruptcy, losing game, affaire flamb_ee, victim, bankrupt, flunker, flunky, unsuccessful, successless, failing, tripping, at fault, unfortunate, abortive, addle, stillborn, fruitless, bootless, ineffectual, ineffective, inconsequential, trifling, nugatory, inefficient, insufficient, unavailing, of no effect, aground, grounded, swamped, stranded, cast away, wrecked, foundered, capsized, shipwrecked, nonsuited, foiled, defeated, struck down, borne down, broken down, downtrodden, overborne, overwhelmed, all up with, ploughed, plowed, plucked, lost, undone, ruined, broken, bankrupt, played out, done up, done for, dead beat, ruined root and branch, flambe, knocked on the head, destroyed, frustrated, crossed, unhinged, disconcerted dashed, thrown off one's balance, thrown on one's back, thrown on one's beam ends, unhorsed, in a sorry plight, hard hit, stultified, befooled, dished, hoist on one's own petard, victimized, sacrificed, wide of the mark, out of one's reckoning, left in the lurch, thrown away, unattained, uncompleted, unsuccessfully, to little or no purpose, in vain, re infecta, the bubble has burst, the jig is up, the game is up, all is lost, the devil to pay, parturiunt montes, dies infaustus, tout est perdu hors l'honneur.

Contraction

VB become small, become smaller, lessen, decrease, grow less, dwindle, shrink, contract, narrow, shrivel, collapse, wither, lose flesh, wizen, fall away, waste, wane, ebb, decay, be smaller than, fall short of, not come up to, render smaller, lessen, diminish, contract, draw in, narrow, coarctate, boil down, constrict, constringe, condense, compress, squeeze, corrugate, crimp, crunch, crush, crumple up, warp, purse up, pack, squeeze, stow, pinch, tighten, strangle, cramp, dwarf, bedwarf, shorten, circumscribe, restrain, (subtraction) 38 abrade, pare, reduce, attenuate, rub down, scrape, file, file down, grind, grind down, chip, shave, shear, wear down.

Courtesy

N courtesy, respect, good manners, good behavior, good breeding, manners, politeness, bienseance, urbanity, comity, gentility, breeding, polish, presence, civility, civilization, amenity, suavity, good temper, good humor, amiability, easy temper, complacency, soft tongue, mansuetude, condescension, affability, complaisance, pr_evenance, amability, gallantry, pink of politeness, pink of courtesy, compliment, fair words, soft words, sweet words, honeyed phrases, ceremonial salutation, reception, presentation, introduction, accueil, greeting, recognition, welcome, abord, respects, devoir, regards, remembrances, kind regards, kind remembrances, love, best love, duty, empty encomium, flattering remark, hollow commendation, salaams, obeisance, bow, courtesy, curtsy, scrape, salaam, kotow, kowtow, bowing and scraping, kneeling, genuflection, obsequiousness, capping, shaking hands grip of the hand, embrace, hug, squeeze, accolade, loving cup, vin d'honneur, pledge, love token, kiss, buss, salute, mark of recognition, nod, nods and becks and wreathed smiles, valediction, condolence, courteous, polite, civil, mannerly, urbane, well-behaved, well- mannered, well-bred, well-brought up, good-mannered, polished, civilized, cultivated, refined, gentlemanlike, gallant, on one's good behavior, fine spoken, fair spoken, soft-spoken, honey-mouthed, honey- tongued, oily, bland, obliging, conciliatory, complaisant, complacent, obsequious, ingratiating, winning, gentle, mild, good-humored, cordial, gracious, affable, familiar, neighborly, diplomatic, tactful, politic, artful, courteously, with a good grace, with open arms, with outstretched arms, a bras ouverts, suaviter in modo, in good humor, Int, hail!, welcome!, well met!, ave!, all hail!, good day, good morrow!, Godspeed!, pax vobiscum!, may your shadow never be less!, Tien de plus estimable que la ceremonie, the very pink of courtesy.

VB be courteous, show courtesy, mind one's P's and Q's, behave oneself, be all things to all men, conciliate, speak one fair, take in good part, make the amiable, do the amiable, look as if butter would not melt in one's mouth, mend one's manners, receive, do the honors, usher, greet, hail, bid welcome, welcome, welcome with open arms, shake hands, hold out the hand, press the hand, squeeze the hand, press the flesh, bid Godspeed, speed the parting guest, cheer, serenade, salute, embrace, kiss, kiss hands, drink to, pledge, hob and nob, move to, nod to, smile upon, uncover, cap, touch the hat, take off the hat, doff the cap, present arms, make way for, bow, make one's bow, make a leg, scrape, curtsy, courtesy, bob a curtsy, bob a courtesy, kneel, bow the knee, bend the knee, visit, wait upon, present oneself, pay one's respects, pay a visit, dance attendance on, pay attentions to, do homage to, prostrate oneself, give one's duty to, send one's duty to render polite, polish, civilize, humanize.

Pulverulence

VB come to dust, be disintegrated, be reduced to powder reduce to powder, grind to powder, pulverize, comminute, granulate, triturate, levigate, scrape, file, abrade, rub down, grind, grate, rasp, pound, bray, bruise, contuse, contund, beat, crush, cranch, craunch, crunch, scranch, crumble, disintegrate, attenuate.

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.

Engraving

VB engrave, grave, stipple, scrape, etch, bite, bite in, lithograph, print.