noun · neutral
scavenger
UK/ˈskævɪndʒə(r)/US/ˈskævɪndʒər/SCA·ven·ger
an animal or person that eats dead animals or collects discarded things
Examples
“Vultures are well-known scavengers that feed on carcasses.”
“Urban scavengers search through refuse to find items they can reuse or sell.”
“Scavengers play a role in cleaning up organic waste in many systems.”
Band 8 sentence
“By consuming carcasses, scavengers speed nutrient cycling and reduce disease risk in the landscape.”
Collocations
- scavenger bird
- urban scavenger
- scavenge for
Word family
Common mistakes
Vultures is a scavenger.→Vultures are scavengers.
They scavenge on the ground.→They scavenge through the rubbish.
Say it for a higher band
5forager→6searcher in rubbish→7+scavenger
Synonyms
forager
Easily confused
forager
“While many birds forage for seeds, only a few species are true scavengers.”
Related words
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In Nature & Animals
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