scrounger

«scrounger» in Mova's school dictionary: A person who often gets things from others without paying… — its meaning for a pupil, its sense in the lessons and examples.

part of speech

noun (a scrounger, scroungers)

meaning for a pupil

1) (informal, UK) A person who often gets things from others without paying or working for them. tree →

2) (insulting) A person who is said to live off other people or the government instead of working — this is often an unfair, hurtful label. tree →

sense in the lessons

In everyday life, a scrounger asks for your sweets, pens or money all the time. In the news, "benefit scroungers" is a harsh phrase some newspapers use; many people say it unfairly blames poor or sick people. In stories, a scrounger can be a funny, cheeky character. Phrases: a bit of a scrounger, benefit scrounger.

examples

• My brother is a scrounger — he always eats my crisps. tree →
• The seagull is a scrounger, waiting for chips. tree →
• "Stop being a scrounger and buy your own!" tree →
• Some newspapers call poor people scroungers, which is unkind. tree →
• The cat is a real scrounger at dinnertime. tree →
• He's a scrounger; he never brings his own pencil. tree →

note

Informal, often insulting. Verb: scrounge (scrounge, scrounged). Be careful: calling people "scroungers" can be cruel; many who get help cannot work.

Trees and pragmatics

Every meaning and example of «scrounger» parsed by Mova, each sentence with its dependency tree and frames.