Scour v. t. [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.
Scouring barrel, a tumbling barrel. See under Tumbling.
Scouring cinder Metal., a basic slag, which attacks the lining of a shaft furnace. --Raymond.
Scouring rush. Bot. See Dutch rush, under Dutch.
Scouring stock Woolen Manuf., a kind of fulling mill.
scoured
adj : worn away as by water or ice or wind [syn: eroded]