scavenge

Definitions


[ˈskav(ɪ)n(d)ʒ], (Verb)

Definitions:
- search for and collect (anything usable) from discarded waste
(e.g: people sell junk scavenged from the garbage)

- remove (combustion products) from an internal combustion engine cylinder on the return stroke of the piston
(e.g: solid lead deposits of combustion would be scavenged from the engine)

- combine with and remove (molecules, groups, etc.) from a particular medium
(e.g: chlorine molecules can scavenge ozone at a very fast rate)


Phrases:

Origin:
mid 17th century (in the sense ‘clean out (dirt)’): back-formation from scavenger




definition by Oxford Dictionaries