scrape up
Học thuậtThân thiện
Definition
Verb (transitive) 1. To gather or collect (something, especially money or resources) with difficulty or effort over time: This verb describes the slow, often challenging process of accumulating a small or barely sufficient amount of something, typically from limited or meager sources.
Usage
The verb "scrape up" is used to emphasize the difficulty and gradual effort involved in collecting a resource. It often implies that the final amount is just enough to meet a basic need or requirement. It is commonly followed by nouns like "money," "cash," "funds," "a living," or "support."
Examples
- Verb:
- We need to scrape up enough cash for the train tickets.
- He managed to scrape up a few volunteers for the clean-up event.
- They are trying to scrape up the final payment for their car.
Advanced Usage
- "to scrape together": This is a very common synonym with identical meaning and usage.
- She scraped together her savings to buy the guitar.
- The phrase often carries a connotation of financial struggle or making do with very little.
Variants and Related Words
- Scrape (verb): Can mean to manage to obtain or achieve something with difficulty.
- The team just scraped a victory in the final seconds.
- Scrimp and save (idiom): To be extremely frugal over time to save money, closely related in meaning to "scrape up."
Synonyms
- Muster: To gather or assemble (especially courage, support, or strength).
- Cobble together: To assemble or put together something roughly or hastily from available parts or resources.
Related Phrasal Verbs
- Scrape by/through: To just barely manage to succeed or survive, often financially.
- With that low salary, they can only just scrape by.
Related Idioms
- Make ends meet: To have just enough money to pay for one's basic necessities. This idiom describes the state of financial survival that often requires one to "scrape up" resources.
- They work two jobs just to make ends meet.
Verb
- gather (money or other resources) together over time
- She had scraped together enough money for college
- they scratched a meager living