scavenge verb (used with object), scavenged, scavenging.1. to take or gather (something usable) from discarded material.2. to cleanse of filth, as a street.3. to expel burnt gases from (the cylinder of an internal-combustion engine).4. Metallurgy. to purify (molten metal) by introducing a substance that will combine chemically with impurities. verb (used without object), scavenged, scavenging.5...