Definition of "scum" []

• A filmy layer of extraneous or impure matter that forms on or rises to the surface of a liquid or body of water. (noun)
• The refuse or dross of molten metals. (noun)
• Refuse or worthless matter. (noun)
• Slang One, such as a person or an element of society, that is regarded as despicable or worthless. (noun)
• To remove the scum from. (verb-transitive)

American Heritage(R) Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright (c) 2011 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

• "But then again, sometimes scum is just scum and you have to ignore such remarks, wipe the scum from the bottom of your shoe and keep moving ahead."
• ""That's what they call the scum, " Palma assured his longtime colleague."
• "You don't think that "scum" is a useful agent in procreation, while the Daily Mail is an abuse of good sense and willfully lies and libels in billionaires 'interests, then?"