Scour — Defs

01 v. t. To rub hard with something rough, as sand or Bristol brick, especially for the purpose of cleaning; to clean by friction; to make clean or …

imp. & p. p. Scoured; p. pr. & vb. n. Scouring

1.
To rub hard with something rough, as sand or Bristol brick, especially for the purpose of cleaning; to clean by friction; to make clean or bright; to cleanse from grease, dirt, etc., as articles of dress.
2.
To purge; as, to scour a horse.
3.
To remove by rubbing or cleansing; to sweep along or off; to carry away or remove, as by a current of water; -- often with off or away.
“[I will] stain my favors in a bloody mask, Which, washed away, shall scour my shame with it.” — Shak.
4.
To pass swiftly over; to brush along; to traverse or search thoroughly; as, to scour the coast.
“Not so when swift Camilla scours the plain.” — Pope.
5.
To cleanse or clear, as by a current of water; to flush.
“If my neighbor ought to scour a ditch.” — Blackstone.

Phrases & compounds

Scouring barrel — a tumbling barrel. See under Tumbling.

Scouring cinder — a basic slag, which attacks the lining of a shaft furnace.

Scouring rush — See Dutch rush, under Dutch.

Scouring stock — a kind of fulling mill.

02 v. i. To clean anything by rubbing.

1.
To clean anything by rubbing.
2.
To cleanse anything.
“Warm water is softer than cold, for it scoureth better.” — Bacon.
3.
To be purged freely; to have a diarrhoea.
4.
To run swiftly; to rove or range in pursuit or search of something; to scamper.
“So four fierce coursers, starting to the race, Scour through the plain, and lengthen every pace.” — Dryden.

03 n. Diarrhoea or dysentery among cattle.

1.
Diarrhoea or dysentery among cattle.
2.
The act of scouring.
3.
A place scoured out by running water, as in the bed of a stream below a fall.
“If you catch the two sole denizens [trout] of a particular scour, you will find another pair installed in their place to-morrow.” — Grant Allen.