Longman Dictionary of Contemporary English homepage

Date: 1300-1400
Language: Middle Dutch
Origin: schum

scum

 noun
     
scum
1 [uncountable] an unpleasant dirty substance that forms on the surface of water:
a pond covered with green scum
2 [plural] informal nasty, unpleasant people:
Scum like that should be locked away!
People like that are the scum of the earth.
—scummy adjective
Definition from the Longman Dictionary of Contemporary English
Advanced Learner's Dictionary.

Dictionary pictures of the day
Do you know what each of these is called?
What is the word for picture 1? What is the word for picture 2? What is the word for picture 3? What is the word for picture 4?
Click on any of the pictures above to find out what it is called.

Explore our topic dictionary

Browse the dictionary