Definition of "scourge" in English

noun

1. (weaponry, chiefly historical) A whip, often made of leather and having multiple tails; a lash.

   • He flogged him with a scourge.

2. A person or thing regarded as an agent of divine punishment.

3. A source of persistent (and often widespread) pain and suffering or trouble, such as a cruel ruler, disease, pestilence, or war.

   • Graffiti is the scourge of building owners everywhere.

verb

1. To strike (a person, an animal, etc.) with a scourge (noun etymology 1, sense 1) or whip; to flog, to whip.

2. To drive, or force (a person, an animal, etc.) to move, with or as if with a scourge or whip.

3. To punish (a person, an animal, etc.); to chastise.

4. To cause (someone or something) persistent (and often widespread) pain and suffering or trouble; to afflict, to torment.

5. Of a crop or a farmer: to deplete the fertility of (land or soil).