<p><strong>Verb</strong></p><ul><li>(used with object) to remove dirt, grease, etc., from or to cleanse or polish by hard rubbing, as with a rough or abrasive material: to scour pots and pans.</li><li>Synonyms: rub, shine, buff, burnish.</li><li>to remove (dirt, grease, etc.) from something by hard rubbing: to scour grease from pots and pans.</li><li>to clear or dig out (a channel, drain, etc.) as by the force of water, by removing debris, etc.</li><li>to purge thoroughly, as an animal.</li><li>to clear or rid of what is undesirable: to scour the nation of spies.</li><li>to remove by or as if by cleansing; get rid of.</li><li>to clean or rid of debris, impurities, etc., by or as if by washing, as cotton or wool.</li><li>(of the contents of a blast furnace) to rub against and corrode (the refractory lining).</li></ul><p><strong>Noun</strong></p><ul><li>the act of scouring.</li><li>the place scoured.</li><li>an apparatus or material used in scouring; scourer: Sand is a good scour.</li><li>the erosive force of moving water, as in a river or sea.</li><li>(used with a singular or plural verb) Veterinary Pathology: diarrhea in horses and cattle caused by intestinal infection.</li></ul>