1 B1 neutral
In cooking, to use a spatula or scraper to push ingredients from the sides of a bowl back down to the centre.
"Stop the mixer and scrape down the sides of the bowl before adding the eggs."
separable
scrape down
B2 neutral separable transitive
To clean or clear a surface thoroughly by scraping it from top to bottom.
In plain English
To clean something by moving a hard tool down along it to remove dirt or old material.
What does "scrape down" mean?
2 meanings, ordered from most common to least. Color-coded by CEFR level.
2 B2 neutral
To clean or strip a vertical surface thoroughly by scraping it from top to bottom.
"Before repainting the boat, they scraped down the hull to remove all the old paint and barnacles."
separable
Literal vs figurative
Words literally mean
To scrape (remove with a sharp edge) in a downward direction.
Actually means
To clean something by moving a hard tool down along it to remove dirt or old material.
Usage tip
Common in cooking (scraping down the sides of a mixing bowl) and in manual trades such as painting or plastering. The cooking sense is particularly frequent in recipe instructions.
Words that pair with "scrape down"
Natural word combinations native speakers use most often.
bowl sides wall grill pan hull
How to conjugate "scrape down"
The five tense forms you'll use most often.
Base
scrape down
I/you/we/they
3rd person
scrapes down
he/she/it
Past simple
scraped down
yesterday
Past participle
scraped down
have + pp
-ing form
scraping down
continuous
Hear "scrape down" in the wild
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Other ways to say "scrape down"
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