What does "scarf" mean?
A long, often knitted, garment worn around the neck.
Scarf
/skɑːɹf/ noun, verb, slang
noun, verb, slang ·Common ·Middle school level
Meaning at a glance
- Primary sense: A long, often knitted, garment worn around the neck.
- Grammar: scarf is listed as noun, verb, slang.
- Nearest alternatives: ankle, articulate, articulation, band.
- Useful contrasts: bare neck, nibble, nibbling.
- Usage evidence: You can wear my scarf as long as you don't spill anything on it.
How to use "scarf"
- Start with the primary definition, then check the part of speech before placing the word in a sentence.
- Compare nearby synonyms to make sure "scarf" carries the exact meaning, tone, and strength you need.
- Use the example sentence as a context check. If your sentence uses the word differently, confirm that the grammar still fits.
Meaning check
- Does the word fit the sentence's grammar?
- Does it match the intended tone rather than only the dictionary definition?
- Would a simpler synonym be clearer for the reader?
- Is there enough surrounding context to prevent ambiguity?
Source and review context
This entry combines structured lexical data with WordToolSet review checks. Definitions, examples, synonyms, and usage notes may come from different source tables, so the page is designed to show evidence from more than one angle before you rely on "scarf" in a final draft.
If a word has several senses, prefer the sense that matches your sentence's grammar and surrounding context. A correct definition can still be the wrong choice when the sentence needs a different register, emphasis, or level of specificity.
Before you rely on this definition
Read the first definition as a starting point, then check the example, synonyms, and part of speech before treating "scarf" as the right word for your sentence.
If your draft is formal, technical, persuasive, or sensitive, compare "scarf" with a nearby alternative so the final choice matches both meaning and reader expectation.
Compare nearby meanings
- Use synonyms when you need a softer, stronger, simpler, or more specific word.
- Use antonyms to check the boundary of the meaning and avoid accidental contrast.
- Use the example sentence to confirm the word behaves naturally in context.
- Keep the original wording when a replacement adds complexity without improving precision.
Definition decision workflow
1. Identify the role
Check whether "scarf" is acting as noun, verb, slang in your sentence. A definition is only useful when the grammar matches the way the word is being used.
2. Test the nearest option
Compare it with "ankle" and other nearby choices to see whether the sentence needs a softer, stronger, or more familiar word.
3. Confirm with context
Use the example sentence below as an evidence check, then read your own sentence out loud to catch tone or rhythm problems.
Review note: Definition pages are checked for source coverage, sentence evidence, synonym support, and editorial insight before they are treated as approval-ready pages. If the evidence is too thin, the page remains available to users but is kept out of the approval-facing indexed inventory.
Final meaning check
Before publishing a sentence with "scarf", ask whether the word helps the reader understand the idea faster. A precise word should reduce confusion, not simply make the sentence look more polished.
When the definition, synonym evidence, and example context point in the same direction, the word is usually a safer choice. When they conflict, revise the sentence or choose a clearer alternative.
Definitions
Noun
- 1 A long, often knitted, garment worn around the neck.
"Now that she had rested and had fed from the luncheon tray Mrs. Broome had just removed, she had reverted to her normal gaiety. She looked cool in a grey tailored cotton dress with a terracotta scarf and shoes and her hair a black silk helmet."
- 2 A type of joint in woodworking, formed by two shaped ends that fit into or onto each other. transitive
- 3 A cormorant. Scotland, transitive
- 4 Archaic form of scurf (“skin disease; skin flakes”). alt-of, archaic, countable, transitive, uncountable
- 5 a garment worn around the head or neck or shoulders for warmth or decoration wordnet
Show 5 more definitions
- 6 A headscarf.
- 7 A groove on one side of a sewing machine needle. transitive
- 8 a joint made by notching the ends of two pieces of timber or metal so that they will lock together end-to-end wordnet
- 9 A neckcloth or cravat. dated
- 10 A dip or notch or cut made in the trunk of a tree to direct its fall when felling. transitive
Verb
- 1 To throw on loosely; to put on like a scarf. transitive
"Vp from my Cabin, / My ſea-gowne scarft about me in the darke / Gropt I to find out them, […]"
- 2 To shape by grinding or oxyfuel torch cutting. transitive
- 3 To eat very quickly. US, slang, transitive
"You sure scarfed that pizza."
- 4 wrap in or adorn with a scarf wordnet
- 5 To dress with a scarf, or as with a scarf; to cover with a loose wrapping. transitive
"She scarfed her head."
Show 5 more definitions
- 6 To form a scarf on the end or edge of, as for a joint in timber, forming a "V" groove for welding adjacent metal plates, metal rods, etc. transitive
- 7 unite by a scarf joint wordnet
- 8 To cover as or like a scarf. transitive
"A cowl scarfed her shoulders."
- 9 To unite, as two pieces of timber or metal, by a scarf joint. transitive
- 10 masturbate while strangling oneself wordnet
Example
"You can wear my scarf as long as you don't spill anything on it."
Common questions
What is a synonym for "scarf"?
Common synonyms include: ankle, articulate, articulation, band, bandanas, bandanna.
How do you use "scarf" in a sentence?
You can wear my scarf as long as you don't spill anything on it.
How do you pronounce "scarf"?
Pronounced /skɑːɹf/.
Etymology
Etymology 1
Probably from Old Northern French escarpe (compare Old French escharpe (“pilgrim's purse suspended from the neck”), which see). The verb is derived from the noun. Doublet of scrip.
Etymology 2
Of uncertain origin. Possibly from Old Norse skarfr, derivative of skera (“to cut”).
Etymology 3
Generally thought to be a variant, attested since the 1950s, of scoff (“eat (quickly)”) (of which scorf is another attested variant), itself a variant of scaff. Sometimes alternatively suggested to be a dialectal survival of Old English scearfian, sceorfan (“gnaw, bite”) (compare scurf).
Etymology 4
From Old Norse skarfr.