Meanings
- derogatoryidiomaticinformaluncountableAn undesirable individual; the worst type of person or people.
Child abusers and pedophiles are the scum of the earth.
1 more example
When I see people who arrive here legitimately seeking refuge and shelter, and they are treated as the scum of the Earth and they are sentenced to awful detention and sometimes death by both major political parties […]
2018 August 20, “Q&A: John Marsden says he would not have written the Tomorrow series today”, in ABC News, archived from the original on 21 Jul 2019Antonyms: salt of the earth
Synonyms & antonyms
nounAn undesirable individual; the worst type of person or people.
Translations
French lie de l'humanité
- lie de l'humanitéundesirable individual
Cite this entry
scum of the earth. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 5, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/scum%20of%20the%20earth
“scum of the earth.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/scum%20of%20the%20earth. Accessed November 5, 2026.
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “scum of the earth,” accessed November 5, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/scum%20of%20the%20earth.
Source: scum of the earth on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.