scrap1

 
Pronunciation: /skrap/

noun

  • 1a small piece or amount of something, especially one that is left over after the greater part has been used: I scribbled her address on a scrap of paper scraps of information
  • (scraps) bits of uneaten food left after a meal: he filled Sammy’s bowls with fresh water and scraps
  • used to emphasize the lack or smallness of something: there was not a scrap of aggression in him every scrap of green land is up for grabs by development
  • a particularly small thing of its kind: she was wearing a short black skirt and a tiny scrap of a top
  • 2 (also scrap metal) [mass noun] discarded metal for reprocessing: the steamer was eventually sold for scrap
  • [often as modifier] any waste articles or discarded material: we’re burning scrap lumber he painted scenes on cardboard shirt boxes and other scrap material

verb (scraps, scrapping, scrapped)

[with object]
  • discard or remove from service (a redundant, old, or inoperative vehicle, vessel, or machine), especially so as to convert it to scrap metal: a bold decision was taken to scrap existing plant
  • abolish or cancel (a plan, policy, or law): he supports the idea that road tax should be scrapped

Origin:

late Middle English (as a plural noun denoting fragments of uneaten food): from Old Norse skrap 'scraps'; related to skrapa 'to scrape'. The verb dates from the late 19th century