Definition of "scavenger"

Someone who scavenges, especially one who searches through rubbish for food or useful things.  examples

An animal that feeds on decaying matter such as carrion.  examples

(UK, obsolete) A street sweeper.

(UK, historical) A child employed to pick up loose cotton from the floor in a cotton mill.

(chemistry) A substance used to remove impurities from the air or from a solution.  examples

(archaic) To scavenge.

(archaic) To clean the rubbish from a street, etc.