- pronunciation:
- skae
vihn
j
r
- features:
- Word History
| part of speech: |
noun |
| definition: |
an animal that finds and eats dead animals or rotting plants; a person who finds things that others no longer want.
Hyenas are scavengers.My grandfather is a real scavenger at yard sales.
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In the 1300s, English towns began collecting a tax called "scavage" on goods sold by people who did not live in the town. The
scavenger was the person who collected the tax. After this practice ended, the word was used for a person hired to remove trash from the streets.