scour Meaning, Definition & Usage

  1. noun a place that is scoured (especially by running water)
  2. verb examine minutely
    • The police scoured the country for the fugitive
  3. verb clean with hard rubbing
    scrub.
    • She scrubbed his back
  4. verb rub hard or scrub
    abrade.
    • scour the counter tops
  5. verb rinse, clean, or empty with a liquid
    purge; flush.
    • flush the wound with antibiotics
    • purge the old gas tank

WordNet

Scour transitive verb
Etymology
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.
Wordforms
imperfect & past participle Scoured ; present participle & verbal noun Scouring
Definitions
  1. 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.
  2. To purge; as, to scour a horse.
  3. 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.
    [I will] stain my favors in a bloody mask, Which, washed away, shall scour my shame with it. Shak.
  4. Perhaps a different word; cf. OF. escorre, escourre, It. scorrere, both fr. L. excurrere to run forth. Cf. Excursion. To pass swiftly over; to brush along; to traverse or search thoroughly; as, to scour the coast.
    Not so when swift Camilla scours the plain. Pope.
Scour intransitive verb
Definitions
  1. To clean anything by rubbing. Shak.
  2. To cleanse anything.
    Warm water is softer than cold, for it scoureth better. Bacon.
  3. To be purged freely; to have a diarrhoea.
  4. To run swiftly; to rove or range in pursuit or search of something; to scamper.
    So four fierce coursers, starting to the race, Scour through the plain, and lengthen every pace. Dryden.
Scour noun
Definitions
  1. Diarrhoea or dysentery among cattle.

Webster 1913