Commonly Confused Words

Scrape vs. Scrap

1 min read

Scrape and scrap look and sound somewhat similar, but their meanings are completely different. One is about rubbing or scratching a surface, and the other is about throwing something away or keeping leftover pieces.

Scrape

Scrape means to rub, scratch, or remove something from a surface — often causing a mark or small injury.

Be careful not to scrape your knee.
I had to scrape ice off the car window.
The chair scraped loudly across the floor.

Scrap

Scrap has two main meanings:

A small leftover piece of something (paper, metal, food).
To throw something away or cancel it.

He wrote the number on a scrap of paper.
They decided to scrap the project and start again.
The factory recycles metal scraps.

💡 Tip

Scrape = scratch a surface → think of the sharp “scr-” sound.
Scrap = a leftover piece or cancel → think of “a scrap of paper.”

Test your knowledge 📝

Question 1 sur 8Score: 0/8

Be careful not to ___ your knee on the pavement.

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Commonly Confused Words

Scrape vs. Scrap

1 min read

Scrape

Scrape means to rub, scratch, or remove something from a surface — often causing a mark or small injury.

Be careful not to scrape your knee.
I had to scrape ice off the car window.
The chair scraped loudly across the floor.

Scrap

Scrap has two main meanings:

A small leftover piece of something (paper, metal, food).
To throw something away or cancel it.

He wrote the number on a scrap of paper.
They decided to scrap the project and start again.
The factory recycles metal scraps.

💡 Tip

Scrape = scratch a surface → think of the sharp “scr-” sound.
Scrap = a leftover piece or cancel → think of “a scrap of paper.”

Test your knowledge 📝

Question 1 sur 8Score: 0/8

Be careful not to ___ your knee on the pavement.

Discover the app: Shaky English

Join 100,000 people who are improving their English skills on the Shaky English app

Other similar rules

Common confusions

Historic vs. Historical

Common confusions

Each and Every

Agreement rules

Tag Questions (You’re French, aren’t you?)

A bit of theory

Bring vs. Take

Vocabulary

Title Capitalization

Common confusions

That vs. Which

Conjugation

Articles: A, An, The

Common confusions