Scrapped and scraped are two words that are close in spelling and pronunciation and may be considered confusables. We will examine the different meanings of the confusables scrapped and scraped, the word origins of the terms, and some examples of their English usage in sentences.
Scrapped, pronounced with a short a, means to have thrown something away, to have discarded something, to have taken something out of service. Scrapped may also mean to have engaged in a minor physical skirmish or quarrel. Scrapped is the past tense of the verb, scrap; related words are scrap, scraps, scrapping. The word scrapped is derived from the Old Norse word, skrap. Note that because the vowel in scrap is pronounced as a short a, the ending consonant is doubled when the root word is inflected.
Scraped, pronounced with a long a, means to have rasped an object across another object; to use an implement to remove dirt from an object by a rubbing motion; to have accumulates something scarce; or to have managed to just barely accomplish something. Scraped is the past tense of the verb, scrape; related words are scrape, scrapes, scraping. The word scraped is derived from the Old English word, scrapian, which means to rasp with one’s fingernails. Note that because the vowel in scrape is pronounced as a long a, the ending consonant is not doubled when the root word is inflected.
Examples
Plan B restrictions including working from home could be scrapped as quickly as possible if the Omicron threat turns out to be far less dangerous than feared, No10 said today. (Evening Standard)
Zafrul: Licensing for the sale of alcoholic beverages has not been scrapped (New Straits Times)
In a few more strides, he reaches the owl’s nest — a bowl-shaped depression scraped out of the top of (High Country News)
“We’ll shut the marquee off, and all the neon has to be taken off the sign to be painted and scraped.” (Daily Journal)
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