top definitions
related content
examples
british

scourings

[ skouuh r-ingz, skou-er- ]

/ ˈskaʊər ɪŋz, ˈskaʊ ər- /

SEE SYNONYMS FOR scourings ON THESAURUS.COM

noun (used with a plural verb)

dirt or refuse removed by scouring.

refuse removed from grain.

Origin of scourings

First recorded in 1580–90; see origin at scour¹, -ing¹, -s³

Words nearby scourings

scour, scourer, scourge, scouring pad, scouring rush, scourings, scouse, scout, scout car, scout leader, scoutcraft

Example sentences from the Web for scourings

Therefore it is best only to let the public mind have the scourings, as it were, of one's existence.

With Edged Tools |Henry Seton Merriman
She carefully measured out half a pint of the unsavory fluid—the dregs of the casks and the scourings of the ledge.

The Wings of the Morning |Louis Tracy
And out of the scourings of that vast mass of chalk was our gravel-pit made.

Scientific Essays and Lectures |Charles Kingsley
There is a Boer laager some miles above the camp, the scourings of which—horrid thought!

With Rimington |L. March Phillipps

The population of Suez was said to comprise the scourings of all nations.

Recollections of Thirty-nine Years in the Army |Charles Alexander Gordon

British Dictionary definitions for scourings

scourings

/ (ˈskaʊərɪŋz) /

pl n

the residue left after cleaning grain

residue that remains after scouring