What does "scat" mean?
A tax; tribute.
Scat
/skæt/ intj, noun, verb, slang
intj, noun, verb, slang ·Common ·High school level
Meaning at a glance
- Primary sense: A tax; tribute.
- Grammar: scat is listed as intj, noun, verb, slang.
- Nearest alternatives: scat singing, baloney, beat it, begone.
- Useful contrasts: come here, lyrics based singing, remain.
- Usage evidence: Louis Armstrong was a well-known exponent of scat singing.
How to use "scat"
- Start with the primary definition, then check the part of speech before placing the word in a sentence.
- Compare nearby synonyms to make sure "scat" 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 "scat" 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 "scat" as the right word for your sentence.
If your draft is formal, technical, persuasive, or sensitive, compare "scat" 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 "scat" is acting as intj, 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 "scat singing" 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 "scat", 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 tax; tribute.
- 2 Animal excrement; droppings, dung. countable, uncountable
"They turned to polar bear feces, or scat, as it is commonly called. […] She and Quinoa [a dog] worked with Dr. Rockwell to collect and study samples of polar bear scat for several years and found that the bears were eating lots of geese."
- 3 A blow; a hit, an impact. uncommon
"... a shot rang out, followed immediately by the "scat" of a bullet against the rock behind which he lay concealed. A tramp of heavy Galloway brogans was heard, and a half-hearted kicking about among the heather bushes, and at last[…]"
- 4 Scat singing.
- 5 Any fish in the family Scatophagidae.
Show 6 more definitions
- 6 singing jazz; the singer substitutes nonsense syllables for the words of the song and tries to sound like a musical instrument wordnet
- 7 A land-tax paid in the Shetland Islands. Shetland
- 8 Heroin. countable, slang, uncountable
- 9 A brisk shower of rain, driven by the wind. UK, dialectal
"Low black Clouds on it being ſoppoſed to prognoſticate Rain in the Places beneath it, it has been a ſtanding old Saw, When Haldon hath a Hat, Kenton beware a Skat."
- 10 Whiskey. countable, obsolete, slang, uncountable
- 11 Coprophilia, scatophilia. countable, slang, uncountable
"Enema queens, like scat queens, are really the scum of the earth."
Verb
- 1 To sing an improvised melodic solo using nonsense syllables, often onomatopoeic or imitative of musical instruments.
- 2 To leave quickly. colloquial
"Here comes the principal; we'd better scat."
- 3 flee; take to one's heels; cut and run wordnet
Intj
- 1 An imperative demand to leave, often understood by speaker and listener as impertinent. colloquial
"Scat! Go on! Get out of here!"
Synonyms
All synonymsExample
"Louis Armstrong was a well-known exponent of scat singing."
Common questions
What is a synonym for "scat"?
Common synonyms include: scat singing, baloney, beat it, begone, bel canto, bilge.
How do you use "scat" in a sentence?
Louis Armstrong was a well-known exponent of scat singing.
How do you pronounce "scat"?
Pronounced /skæt/.
Etymology
Etymology 1
From Middle English scet, schat, from Old English sċeatt (“property, goods”) and Old Norse skattr (“wealth, treaure”); both from Proto-Germanic *skattaz (“cattle, kine, wealth”), from Proto-Indo-European *skatn-, *skat- (“to jump, skip, splash out”). Cognate with Scots scat (“tax, levy, charge, payment, bribe”), West Frisian skat (“treasure, darling”), Dutch schat (“treasure, hoard, darling, sweetheart”), German Schatz (“treasure, hoard, wealth, store, darling, sweetheart”), Swedish skatt (“treasure, tax, duty”), Icelandic skattur (“tax, tribute”), Latin scateō (“gush, team, bubble forth, abound”).
Etymology 2
Origin uncertain. Both the Oxford English Dictionary and Merriam-Webster suggest derivation from Ancient Greek σκῶρ (skôr, “excrement”), compare English scato-, but Random House Dictionary suggests that the popular character of the word makes this unlikely. Perhaps from English dialectal scat (“to scatter, fling, bespatter”), or an alteration of shit, which is also used for "drugs, heroin".
Etymology 3
Uncertain. The OED, which connects the senses "blow" and "shower" only tentatively, suggests that at least the former might be onomatopoeia. Dialectally, the word can also refer to "a spell" of any kind of weather, e.g. "a scat of fine weather", "a scat of frost".
Etymology 4
1920s, probably imitative.
Etymology 5
Mid 19th century: * perhaps an abbreviation of scatter. * perhaps representing a hiss followed by the word cat. Compare Swedish schas (“shoo, begone”). * Alternatively, from the expression quicker than scat (“in a great hurry”), * Possibly from scoot, from the root of shoot.
Etymology 6
From the taxonomic name of the family.