scrape

Concise Oxford English Dictionary © 2008 Oxford University Press:
scrape/skreɪp/

▶verb

• 1 drag or pull a hard or sharp implement across (a surface or object).

  ■ use a sharp or hard implement to remove (dirt or unwanted matter).

• 2 rub or cause to rub against a rough or hard surface.

  ■ humorous play a violin tunelessly.

• 3 just manage to achieve, succeed, or pass.

  ■ (scrape something together/up) collect or accumulate something with difficulty.

  ■ try to save as much money as possible; economize.

  ■ (scrape by/along) manage to live with difficulty.

▶noun

• 1 an act or sound of scraping.

  ■ an injury or mark caused by scraping.

  ■ Brit. a thinly applied layer of butter or margarine on bread.

• 2 informal an embarrassing or difficult predicament.

• 3 archaic an obsequious bow in which one foot is drawn backwards along the ground.

– phrases
scrape acquaintance with dated contrive to get to know.
scrape the barrel (or the bottom of the barrel) informal be reduced to using the last and poorest resources.

– derivatives
scraper noun,
scraping adjective & noun.

– origin OE scrapian ‘scratch with the fingernails’, of Gmc origin, reinforced in ME by ON skrapa or MDu. schrapen ‘to scratch’.