Scoff

//skɒf// noun, verb, slang

Definitions

Noun
  1. 1
    A derisive or mocking expression of scorn, contempt, or reproach.

    "VVith ſcoffes and ſcornes, and contumelious taunts, / In open Market-place produc't they me, / To be a publique ſpectacle to all: / Here, ſayd they, is the Terror of the French, / The Scar-Crovv that affrights our Children ſo."

  2. 2
    Food. British-Army, Newfoundland, South-Africa, countable, slang, uncountable
  3. 3
    showing your contempt by derision wordnet
  4. 4
    An object of scorn, mockery, or derision.

    "[T]he scoff of wither'd age and beardless youth […]"

  5. 5
    The act of eating. countable, slang, uncountable

    "Lunch for the busy has become a quick scoff of processed, terrifyingly orange couscous, […]"

Verb
  1. 1
    To jeer; to laugh with contempt and derision. intransitive

    "Truth from his lips prevailed with double sway, / And fools who came to scoff, remained to pray."

  2. 2
    To eat food quickly. British, Newfoundland, slang

    "The numbers thin out the further we get from London, so I don't feel guilty when I remove my mask momentarily to scoff some of the snacks I'd bought at Marylebone."

  3. 3
    treat with contemptuous disregard wordnet
  4. 4
    To mock; to treat with scorn. transitive
  5. 5
    To eat. British-Army, Newfoundland, South-Africa, slang
Show 1 more definition
  1. 6
    laugh at with contempt and derision wordnet

Etymology

Etymology 1

From Middle English scof, skof, probably of North Germanic origin. Compare Old Norse skaup, Old Danish skof, Old Frisian skof (“insult, shame”), and Old High German scoph.

Etymology 2

From Middle English scof, skof, probably of North Germanic origin. Compare Old Norse skaup, Old Danish skof, Old Frisian skof (“insult, shame”), and Old High German scoph.

Etymology 3

A variant, attested since the mid 19th century, of scaff, of uncertain origin. Compare scarf (“eat quickly”).

Etymology 4

A variant, attested since the mid 19th century, of scaff, of uncertain origin. Compare scarf (“eat quickly”).

Next best steps

Mini challenge

Unscramble this word: scoff