as in to search
to look through (as a place) carefully or thoroughly in an effort to find or discover something
the police scoured the city for the Typhoid Mary of this latest epidemic
Synonyms & Similar Words
Relevance
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to
show current usage.
Read More
Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors.
Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of scour
May scoured the transfer portal and turned a last-place team into a Big Ten front-runner.
—
Austin Meek, The Athletic, 20 Feb. 2025
Avoid the use of abrasive cleaning agents and tools, including scouring powders and pastes, as well as scrub sponges and steel wool pads that can scratch the cooking surface.
—Jolie Kerr, Better Homes & Gardens, 18 Feb. 2025
On Friday, government demining teams scoured farmland around Wat village in Siem Reap, where an anti-personnel mine and an unexploded mortar round had been detected.
—Anton L. Delgado, NBC News, 14 Feb. 2025
Local officials contacted a private bomb disposal company, Brimstone Site Investigations, to scour the site for what was supposed to be a two-day survey.
—Alexandra E. Petri, New York Times, 11 Feb. 2025
See All Example Sentences for scour
Austin Meek, The Athletic, 20 Feb. 2025
Avoid the use of abrasive cleaning agents and tools, including scouring powders and pastes, as well as scrub sponges and steel wool pads that can scratch the cooking surface.
—Jolie Kerr, Better Homes & Gardens, 18 Feb. 2025
On Friday, government demining teams scoured farmland around Wat village in Siem Reap, where an anti-personnel mine and an unexploded mortar round had been detected.
—Anton L. Delgado, NBC News, 14 Feb. 2025
Local officials contacted a private bomb disposal company, Brimstone Site Investigations, to scour the site for what was supposed to be a two-day survey.
—Alexandra E. Petri, New York Times, 11 Feb. 2025
See All Example Sentences for scour
Cite this Entry
“Scour.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/scour. Accessed 3 Mar. 2025.
Copy CitationLove words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
Share