: a disease caused by a lack of vitamin C and characterized by spongy gums, loosening of the teeth, and a bleeding into the skin and mucous membranes
Synonyms
Examples of scurvy in a Sentence
Adjective
after winning the lottery, she was beset by a whole scurvy swarm of con artists, ne'er-do-wells, and hangers-on
Recent Examples on the Web
Big Think, 24 June 2024
How much of the vitamin a person needs varies individually, but not having enough vitamin C can lead to scurvy over time.
—Christine Mattheis, Health, 19 Aug. 2023
Joey Nolfi, EW.com, 6 Oct. 2023
Along with violent seasickness, passengers suffered from fever, dysentery, boils, scurvy, mouth rot, rat bites, and lice so copious that they could be scraped off the body.
—Dorothy Wickenden, The New Yorker, 30 Oct. 2023
See all Example Sentences for scurvy 
Noun
Over 100 years of Antarctic agriculture is helping scientists grow food in space
Preventing scurvy is not just a problem in the Antarctic.
—Big Think, 24 June 2024
How much of the vitamin a person needs varies individually, but not having enough vitamin C can lead to scurvy over time.
—Christine Mattheis, Health, 19 Aug. 2023
Adjective
Pink even filmed a music video for the track, in which she is dressed as a pirate while singing about scurvy complications.
—Joey Nolfi, EW.com, 6 Oct. 2023
Along with violent seasickness, passengers suffered from fever, dysentery, boils, scurvy, mouth rot, rat bites, and lice so copious that they could be scraped off the body.
—Dorothy Wickenden, The New Yorker, 30 Oct. 2023
See all Example Sentences for scurvy
These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'scurvy.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
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Cite this Entry
“Scurvy.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/scurvy. Accessed 15 Jul. 2024.
Copy CitationKids Definition
scurvy
1 of 2 noun
scur·vy
ˈskər-vē 
: a disease caused by lack of vitamin C and characterized by loosening of the teeth, softening of the gums, and bleeding under the skin
Medical Definition
scurvy
noun
scur·vy
ˈskər-vē
plural scurvies
: a disease caused by a lack of vitamin C and characterized by spongy gums, loosening of the teeth, and bleeding into the skin and mucous membranes
called also scorbutus
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