scourer

S1C3O1U1R1E1R1
UK/ˈskaʊɹə/US/ˈskaʊɹəɹ/

noun

A tool used to scour, usually used to clean cookware.

“A scourer may be in the form of a mesh (ball) of wires, a flat piece of a rough fabric, or a pad with a soft sponge-like side and a more abrasive side.”

OriginMiddle English scourer →
Scrabble 9
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Meanings

nounscourer (plural scourers)

plural scourers

  1. A tool used to scour, usually used to clean cookware.

    A scourer may be in the form of a mesh (ball) of wires, a flat piece of a rough fabric, or a pad with a soft sponge-like side and a more abrasive side.

  2. agentAgent noun of scour; a person who scours.
  3. obsoleteA rover or footpad; a prowling robber.

    in those days of highwaymen and scourers

    1849–1861, Thomas Babington Macaulay, chapter XI, in The History of England from the Accession of James the Second, volume (please specify |volume=I to V), London: Longman, Brown, Green, and Longmans, →OCLC

Origin

  1. Middle Englishscourer
  2. Englishscourer

From Middle English scourer, skourer, scowrrere, equivalent to scour + -er.

More words from Middle English

Full word history & related roots →

Rhymes & wordplay

Anagrams

coursercorreusrescoursourcer
Cite this entry
APA

scourer. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 2, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/scourer

MLA

“scourer.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/scourer. Accessed November 2, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “scourer,” accessed November 2, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/scourer.

Source: scourer on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.