scrounging
Begging or scavenging
Scrounging is seeking out and obtaining things, usually through begging, borrowing, or opportunistic gathering rather than buying: He was scrounging for cigarettes, She spent the afternoon scrounging supplies from neighbors.
The word carries connotations of resourcefulness mixed with mild desperation or cheapness.
To scrounge up something is to find it with effort: We scrounged up enough chairs for everyone.
Searching by moving things
- siftingSeparating by particle size
- rootingActively cheering someone on
- diggingRemoving earth below
- grubbingDigging up roots
hunting · combing · prowling · groping · fumbling · ferreting · nosing · rifling
Commercial refuse container
- salvageRecovering damaged goods
- junkyardSalvage storage site
- scrapsSmall remaining pieces
- leftoversUneaten food kept afterward
trash · debris · picking · rummaging · waste · reclaim · reuse · repurpose
Consuming resources immediately
- subsistenceMinimal means of living
- povertySevere lack of resources
- necessityIndispensable requirement
- hardshipSuffering from difficult circumstances
struggle · rationing · penniless · destitution · survival · precariousness · scraping by · bare minimum
Small fleshy fruits
- nutsSeeds in shells
- mushroomsSpore-bearing fruiting bodies
- edible plantsConsumable botanical matter
- herbsPlants for seasoning
truffles · wildcrafting · gathering · gleaning · underbrush · woodlands · hedgerows · nettles
Spontaneous, unplanned creation
- makeshiftTemporary, improvised substitute
- ingenuityClever, original thinking
- adaptabilityAbility to adjust readily
- clevernessMental quickness and skill
creativity · cunning · initiative · wherewithal · practicality · enterprise · DIY · making do
rummaging
Searching by moving things
grubbing · hunting · combing · prowling · groping · fumbling · ferreting · nosing · rifling · poking
dumpster
Commercial refuse container
leftovers · trash · debris · picking · rummaging · waste · reclaim · reuse · repurpose · secondhand
hand-to-mouth
Consuming resources immediately
- subsistenceMinimal means of living
- povertySevere lack of resources
- necessityIndispensable requirement
hardship · struggle · rationing · penniless · destitution · survival · precariousness · scraping by · bare minimum · last resort
berries
Small fleshy fruits
- nutsSeeds in shells
- mushroomsSpore-bearing fruiting bodies
- edible plantsConsumable botanical matter
herbs · truffles · wildcrafting · gathering · gleaning · underbrush · woodlands · hedgerows · nettles · acorns
improvisation
Spontaneous, unplanned creation
- makeshiftTemporary, improvised substitute
- ingenuityClever, original thinking
- adaptabilityAbility to adjust readily
cleverness · creativity · cunning · initiative · wherewithal · practicality · enterprise · DIY · making do · stretching
- scavengingscavenging, rummage, foraging, forage, salvage
- moochingmooch, moocher, mooching, freeloader, freeloading
- povertypoverty line, poor, poverty rate, impoverished, generational poverty
- acquiringobtaining, getting, grabbing, seizing, taking
- Depression survivalbread lines, soup kitchens, Hoovervilles, making do, scrimping
- Stockpilingstockpiling, reserves, storage, hoarding, stocking up
scrounginggiving
Transferring to another
donating · generous · providing · bestowing · contributing
scroungingearning one's keep
Compensating for upkeep received
producing · self-sufficient · self-reliance · independent · independence
scrounge, scrounger, scroungy, scrounged, scroungers, scrounges