scouring
Abrasive surface cleaning
Scouring is vigorous cleaning by scrubbing or abrading: scouring pots and pans, scouring the bathtub.
The word extends to thorough searching: Police spent the night scouring the woods for the missing child.
In textile manufacturing, scouring removes natural oils and impurities from raw fibers.
Water may scour a riverbed, eroding it through constant flow.
Cleaning by rubbing hard
- brushBristled cleaning tool
- spongeAbsorbent cleaning material
- detergentChemical cleaning agent
- soapFatty alkali cleanser
steel wool · pumice · rinse · lather · disinfect · sanitize · bleach · suds
Atmospheric breakdown of materials
- erosionGradual wearing away
- waterClear essential liquid
- glacierSlow-moving ice mass
- sedimentParticles settling in liquid
gully · ravine · washout · channel · streambed · floodwater · runoff · abrasion
Thickening cloth by beating
- woolSheared animal fiber
- finishingBringing to completion
- bleachingChemical color removal
- feltingCompacting fibers through agitation
prewashing · preshrunk · degreasing · lanolin · carding
scrubbing
Cleaning by rubbing hard
soap · steel wool · pumice · rinse · lather · disinfect · sanitize · bleach · suds · grime
weathering
Atmospheric breakdown of materials
sediment · gully · ravine · washout · channel · streambed · floodwater · runoff · abrasion · undercutting
fulling
Thickening cloth by beating
felting · prewashing · preshrunk · degreasing · lanolin · carding
sandpaper
Abrasive-coated finishing material
- gritDetermination or abrasive particles
- emeryGranular polishing mineral
- pumiceLightweight volcanic abrasive
steel wool · sanding · grinding · buffing · polishing · rasping · alumina · carborundum · garnet · flint
ransack
Plunder while destroying
ferret out · leave no stone unturned · rummage · forage · canvass · probe · dragnet · manhunt · tracking · pursuit
- surface preparationsurface prep, degreasing, cleaning, sanding, priming
- cleaningcleaning, clean, housekeeping, clean up, daily cleaning
- frictionfriction, rubbing, abrading, friction burn, rolling friction
- cleaning motionswiping, rubbing, scrubbing, brushing, sweeping
- kitchen choreswashing dishes, doing dishes, dishwashing, loading dishwasher, unloading dishwasher
- searchingsearching, rummaging, digging, looking through, finding
scouringdirtying
Making unclean
soiling · sullying · fouling · staining · contaminating
scouringdabbing
Light, repeated pressing
patting · rinsing · caressing · spot cleaning · surface cleaning
scouringglancing
Looking briefly or obliquely
skimming · overlooking · ignoring · quick look · neglecting
- scouring padAbrasive cleaning tool
- scouring powderGranular cleaning compound