Scratch - definition, pronunciation, transcription

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Amer.  |skrætʃ|  American pronunciation of the word scratch
Brit.  |skrætʃ|  British pronunciation of the word scratch

noun

- an abraded area where the skin is torn or worn off (syn: abrasion, excoriation, scrape)
- a depression scratched or carved into a surface (syn: dent, incision, prick, slit)
- informal terms for money (syn: boodle, bread, cabbage, dough, gelt, kale, lettuce, loot, lucre, moolah, pelf, sugar, wampum)
- a competitor who has withdrawn from competition
- a line indicating the location of the start of a race or a game (syn: start)
- dry mash for poultry
- a harsh noise made by scraping (syn: scrape, scraping)
- poor handwriting (syn: scrawl, scribble)
- (golf) a handicap of zero strokes
a golfer who plays at scratch should be able to achieve par on a course
- an indication of damage (syn: mark, scar, scrape)

verb

- cause friction (syn: chafe, fray, fret, rub)
my sweater scratches
- cut the surface of; wear away the surface of (syn: scrape, scratch up)
- scrape or rub as if to relieve itching (syn: itch, rub)
Don't scratch your insect bites!
- postpone indefinitely or annul something that was scheduled (syn: call off, cancel, scrub)
scratch that meeting--the chair is ill
- remove by erasing or crossing out or as if by drawing a line (syn: excise, expunge, strike)
scratch that remark
- gather (money or other resources) together over time (syn: come up, scrape, scrape up)
they scratched a meager living
- carve, cut, or etch into a material or surface (syn: engrave, grave, inscribe)
the lovers scratched their names into the bark of the tree

Extra examples

Will you scratch my back for me?

Scratching the itch only makes it worse.

The dog scratched its ear.

You shouldn't scratch. It'll just make your itch worse.

Thorns scratched our legs as we climbed through the briars.

Careful, the cat will scratch.

The dog was scratching at the door.

Be careful not to scratch the table.

Someone scratched the paint on my car.

The little boy scratched lines in the dirt with a stick.

There's a scratch in the paint on the new car!

The table is an antique but it doesn't have any dents or scratches.

I got a scratch on my leg when I climbed the fence.

The only sound in the room during the test was the scratch of pencils on paper.

We don't have the scratch to buy a new car.

Phrasal verbs

scratch along  — manage one's existence barely
scratch out  — strike or cancel by or as if by rubbing or crossing out
scratch up  — cut the surface of; wear away the surface of

Word forms

verb
I/you/we/they: scratch
he/she/it: scratches
present participle: scratching
past tense: scratched
past participle: scratched
noun
singular: scratch
plural: scratches
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