scour

verb

1. (transitive)To clean, polish, or wash (something) by rubbing and scrubbing it vigorously, frequently with an abrasive or cleaning agent.

   “He scoured the burnt food from the pan.”

   “They all looked directly at the ſcullion,—the ſcullion had juſt been ſcouring a fiſh-kettle.”

   “A light brown sand, of an exceeding fine grain, almost impalpable, from the river Sullane, near New-bridge, where it is found in plenty. It scours brass without scratching, cleans silver, and is excellent for casting the finer works, both of the brazier and silversmith.”

   “There were the tawny rocks, like lions couchant, defying the ocean, whose waves incessantly dashed against and scoured them with vast quantities of gravel.”

2. (transitive)To remove debris and dirt (from something) by purging; to sweep along or off by a current of water.

   “I will redeeme all this on Percies head, / And in the cloſing of ſome glorious day / Be bold to tell you that I am your ſonne, / When I will weare a garment all of bloud, / And ſtaine my fauors in a bloudy maske, / Which waſht away ſhall ſcoure my ſhame with it, […]”

   “It has already been explained that the ebb tide in the Hooghly is a much more powerful scouring agent than the flood tide, that the tide therefore should be used for scouring a channel in preference to the flood whenever it is practicable to use it, hence it is to the body of ebbing water that scours out the fine channel from Akelmeg to Crossing Creek that attention will be principally directed, and not to the flood that scours the channel near the Roopnarain entrance.”

3. (transitive)To clear the digestive tract (of an animal) by administering medication that induces defecation or vomiting; to purge.

   “to scour a horse”

4. (ambitransitive)To (cause livestock to) suffer from diarrhoea or dysentery.

   “If a lamb is scouring, do not delay treatment.”

5. (ambitransitive, obsolete)To cleanse (something) without rubbing.

   “It is reported, that in ſome Lakes, the Water is ſo Nitrous, as if Foule Cloathes be put into it, it ſcoureth them of it ſelfe: And if they ſtay any whit long, they moulder away. And the Scouring Vertue of Nitre is the more to be noted, becauſe it is a Body Cold; And wee ſee Warme Water ſcoureth better than Cold.”

   “Flanders soap is the substance which appeared to act in the most advantageous manner; it scowers very speedily, and gives wool a degree of whiteness which it is extremely difficult to produce by any other means.”

6. (transitive)To search an area thoroughly.

   “They scoured the scene of the crime for clues.”

   “A search engine will scour the web for you.”

   “Tashtego's long, lean, sable hair, his high cheek bones, and black rounding eyes— […] all this sufficiently proclaimed him an inheritor of the unvitiated blood of those proud warrior hunters, who, in quest of the great New England moose, had scoured, bow in hand, the aboriginal forests of the main.”

   “Her dad had been on benefits for years so she never ever received pocket money. When she walked to school she would scour the pavements for coins.”

7. (intransitive)To run with speed; to scurry.

   “Lord. Behind the tuft of Pines I met them, neuer Saw I men scowre so on their way: I eyed them Euen to their Ships.”

   “So four fierce Courſers ſtarting to the Race, / Scow'r thro' the Plain, and lengthen ev'ry Pace: / Nor Reigns, nor Curbs, nor threat'ning Cries they fear, / But force along the trembling Charioteer.”

   “This particularly obtains in all Parliamentary affairs. Whether the business in hand be to get a man in, or get a man out, or get a man over, or promote a railway, or jockey a railway, or what else, nothing is understood to be so effectual as scouring nowhere in a violent hurry—in short, as taking cabs and going about.”

8. (transitive)To move swiftly over; to brush along.

   “When Ajax ſtrives, ſome Rock's vaſt Weight to throw, / The Line too labours, and the Words move ſlow; / Not ſo, when ſwift Camilla ſcours the plain, / Flies o'er th'unbending Corn, and skims along the Main.”

   “We near him! We near him [an ostrich]! Ah, laggard, 'tis vain / That with rapid feet casting the dusty clouds back, / In circles wide wheeling, thou scourest the plain, / For Ayoud, untiring, is close on thy track.”

noun

1. (countable, uncountable)The removal of sediment caused by swiftly moving water.

   “Bridge scour may scoop out scour holes and compromise the integrity of the structure.”

   “The general manner of working this sluice is to take in every alternate tide during the high tides in dry weather, and to let them off for scours for the harbour. In wet weather, or during neap tides, no scours are kept back, nor is it of any consequence to the harbour if no tides are suffered to pass up through the sluice at such times.”

   “It is believed that scour, caused by record river flows as a result of snow melt and heavy rainfall, triggered the collapse of the Yellowstone Twin River Bridges in Stillwater County, Montana, on June 24.”

2. (countable, uncountable)A place scoured out by running water, as in the bed of a stream below a waterfall.

   “Fish as near the middle of the stream as you can in the spring months, and also on the shallows and scowers; but in the winter, in deep holes; let the bait drag two or three inches on the ground.”

   “Trout always have a recognised home of their own, inhabited by a pretty fixed number of individuals. If you catch the two sole denizens of a particular scour, you will find another pair installed in their place to-morrow.”

3. (countable, uncountable)A place where wool is washed to remove grease and impurities prior to processing.

   “I am particularly interested in the wool processing indusries, which make a major contribution to the Hawke's Bay regional economy. There are five wool scours in the area, all of them located within the Hawke's Bay electorate. […] I am pleased to report that the prototype Drycom system was given its first full trial at the UEB Awatoto scour in Hawke's Bay.”

4. (countable, uncountable)Diarrhoea, in livestock; scouring.

   “The Cause and Nature of the Skit, or Scour, of Sheep and Lambs.”

   “[…] lambs, and on the appearance of the skit or scour, the necessity for a change of food is indicated.”