/'skævɪndʒ; `skævɪndʒ/
v
1 [I, Ipr] ~ (for sth) (of an animal or a bird) search for decaying flesh as food; use decaying flesh for food （指兽或鸟）觅食腐肉, 以腐肉为食
*a crow scavenging for carrion 寻找腐肉吃的乌鸦.
2 [I, Ipr, Tn] ~ (for) sth (of a person) search through waste for items that one can use （指人）在垃圾堆里寻找有用之物
*tramps scavenging through dustbins 在垃圾堆里找东西的流浪汉
* a tramp scavenging in dustbins for food 在垃圾箱里寻找食物的流浪汉
* You can often scavenge nice bits of old furniture from skips. 从废物堆里往往能捡到一些挺好的旧家具.

v [I and T]
[Date: 1600-1700; Origin: scavenger (16-21 centuries), from scavager 'tax collector, someone who cleans streets' (15-19 centuries), from scavage 'tax on goods sold' (15-19 centuries), from Old North French escauwage 'examination']
if an animal scavenges, it eats anything that it can find
　Pigs scavenged among the rubbish.
scavenge for
　rats scavenging for food
if someone scavenges, they search through things that other people do not want for food or useful objects
　There are people who live in the dump and scavenge garbage for a living.
scavenge for
　Women were scavenging for old furniture.
>scavengern[C]
　Foxes and other scavengers go through the dustbins.