scum

Definitions  ·  Examples  ·  Pronunciations  ·  Etymologies  ·  Related  ·  Statistics  ·  Comments (2)  · 
“
I'm a millionaire, and the scum are after ransom.

View all »
Definitions (20)

Toggle American Heritage definitions American Heritage Dictionary (6)

  1. noun A filmy layer of extraneous or impure matter that forms on or rises to the surface of a liquid or body of water.
  2. noun The refuse or dross of molten metals.
  3. noun Refuse or worthless matter.
3 more from this dictionary »

Toggle Century definitions Century Dictionary (8)

Toggle GNU Webster definitions GNU Webster's 1913 (3)

Toggle WordNet definitions WordNet (3)

Toggle elsewhere links Elsewhere on the web

View all »
Examples (50)

  • One good effect of the storm: the scum was almost all gone from the lake. —  F ;SF - vol 105 issue 04-05 - October-November 2003
  • So what, the GOP's feelings are not hurt now, because they are being called the scum or idiots or worthless? —  First Read
  • So what, the GOP's feelings are hurt now, because they are being called the scum or idiots or worthless? —  First Read
  • Sounds like the scum is crawling out of their sewers where they've been hiding since election day. —  Latest Articles
  • I personally think that the scum are those that ask these brave men and women to disrupt their lives and put themselves at grave risk for the pursuit of their own personal agenda. —  Propeller Most Popular Stories
More examples »
 

Tags

Sign up or sign in to add tags.

Stats

This word has been looked up 120 times.

stop updating
On Twitter

Photos from

flickr images

Add a related word »
Related

Roget's II Roget's II: The New Thesaurus

Allen's Allen's Synonyms and Antonyms

Used in the same context Used in the Same Context

slime ·  bastard ·  dregs ·  vermin ·  wretch ·  dross ·  filth ·  garbage ·  ooze ·  puddle ·  offal ·  scoundrel
Roget's II: The New Thesaurus, Third Edition by the Editors of the American Heritage® Dictionary. Copyright © 2003, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

Etymologies (3)

Toggle American Heritage etymologies American Heritage Dictionary (1)

  1. Middle English, from Middle Dutch schūm; see (s)keu- in Indo-European roots.

Toggle Century etymologies Century Dictionary (2)

  1. Formerly also skum: from Middle English scum, scom, from Anglo-Saxon *scūm (not found, the ordinary word being fām, foam) = Dutch schuim = Middle Low German schūm, schūme, Low German schum = Old High German scūm, Middle High German schūm. G. schaum = Icelandic skūm (Haldorsen) = Swedish Danish skum (cf. Old French escume, French écume = Provencal Portuguese cscuma = Italian schiuma (from Low German or G.), Irish sgum (from English)), foam, froth, scum; perhaps literally a ‘covering.’ with formative -m, from ✓, cover: see sky. Hence skim.
  2. Early modern English also skum, scom; from Middle English scummen, skommen, scomen = Dutch schuimen = Middle Low German schumen = Old High German scūmen, Middle High German schumen, German schäumen = Swedish skumma = Danish skumme, scum, skim; from the noun. Doublet of skim.
 

Pronunciations
Record your own »
/skəm/
by American Heritage

Charts
frequency chart

Bubble size: how much this word was used in a year

Bubble height: used more or less than expected, vs. all uses evenly distributed

You can expect to see this word about twice a month.

Recently looked up

hobbyhorse · tabid · crete · unbirthday · galliot

Recent Favorites

pygopagus · sanglant · Astacus · sweetbread · qualms

Recent Pronunciations

Der dicke Dachdecker deckte dir dein Dach, drum dank dem dicken Dachdecker, dass der dicke Dachdecker dir dein Dach deckte. · weitläufig · und wenn sie nicht gestorben sind, so leben sie noch heute · redescheu · selbstverständlich