Word.ws English Dictionary

scumming

/ˈskʌmɪŋ/

scumming noun: the accumulation of sticky ink on a plate.

Noun (1)

scumming (plural scummings)

  1. The accumulation of sticky ink on a plate.
  2. (in plural) That which is scummed off; skimmings; scum.

Noun (2)

scumming (uncountable)

  1. (derogatory) The strategy of collecting easy rewards in unchallenging areas, e.g. when a high-level character visits levels suitable for low-level characters in roguelike games.
  2. (derogatory) The act of restoring a game's save file, or restarting the game, for the purpose of continuing play with a better outcome than was obtained the first time.

Forms of scumming

pluralscummings

Origin of scumming

From scum + -ing.

Probably from skimming, modified by the derogatory sense of scum.

Words formed from scumming

  • auto-scumming

Questions about scumming

What does scumming mean?
Scumming means the accumulation of sticky ink on a plate.
What part of speech is scumming?
Scumming is a noun.
How do you pronounce scumming?
Scumming is pronounced /ˈskʌmɪŋ/.
What is the plural of scumming?
The plural of scumming is scummings.

Words near scumming in the dictionary

  1. scummers
  2. scummier
  3. scummiest
  4. scummily
  5. scumminess
  6. scumming
  7. scummings
  8. scummish
  9. scummy
  10. scummy mummies
  11. scummy mummy

Source and license

Adapted from Wiktionary: scumming (page history and authors). Text available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 license. Word.ws reformatted the entry and added links. Wiktionary data of 2026-09-02.

Last updated:

Pronunciation audio from Wikimedia Commons, each file under its own free license: LL-Q1860 (eng)-Flame, not lame-scumming.wav.

Cite this entry: “scumming.” Word.ws, https://word.ws/scumming. Based on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.