scraping
/ˈskreɪpɪŋ
/noun [mass noun]
1The action or sound of something scraping or being scraped: the scraping of the spoon in the bowl [in singular]: there was a loud scraping of chairs...
- Brittney and I woke up to the sound of scraping and movement against the house.
- He could hear the sound of scraping and clanking metal.
- Her ears twisted round to the sound of scraping at the door, her eyes now fully awake narrowed as she remembered the dumbness of dogs.
1.1 [count noun] (usually scrapings) A small amount of something that has been obtained by scraping it from a surface: I got some scrapings from under the girl’s fingernails...
- A full profile was obtained on the scrapings from his right hand, which included cellular material such as skin.
- A specimen obtained from scrapings of the woman's hand was prepared and examined with the use of a scanning electron microscope.
- Skin scrapings obtained from the leading edge of the burrow and under the fingernails are most likely to produce a mite.
