What does "scratch" mean?
A disruption, mark or shallow cut on a surface made by scratching.
Scratch
/skɹæt͡ʃ/ adj, name, noun, verb, slang
adj, name, noun, verb, slang ·Top 500 ·Middle school level
Meaning at a glance
- Primary sense: A disruption, mark or shallow cut on a surface made by scratching.
- Grammar: scratch is listed as adj, name, noun, verb, slang.
- Nearest alternatives: abrasion, mark, scar, scrape.
- Useful contrasts: polished top surface, adopt, burnish.
- Usage evidence: Don't scratch your mosquito bite. It'll get inflamed.
How to use "scratch"
- Start with the primary definition, then check the part of speech before placing the word in a sentence.
- Compare nearby synonyms to make sure "scratch" 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 "scratch" 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 "scratch" as the right word for your sentence.
If your draft is formal, technical, persuasive, or sensitive, compare "scratch" 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 "scratch" is acting as adj, name, 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 "abrasion" 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 "scratch", 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 disruption, mark or shallow cut on a surface made by scratching. countable, uncountable
"I can’t believe there is a scratch in the paint already."
- 2 an indication of damage wordnet
- 3 An act of scratching the skin to alleviate an itch or irritation. countable, uncountable
"The dog sat up and had a good scratch."
- 4 (golf) a handicap of zero strokes wordnet
- 5 A starting line (originally and simply, a line scratched in the ground), as in boxing. countable, uncountable
"He started a few seconds before the time and came up in speed to the scratch at the moment appointed."
Show 21 more definitions
- 6 poor handwriting wordnet
- 7 A technical error of touching or surpassing the starting mark prior to the official start signal in the sporting events of long jump, discus, hammer throw, shot put, and similar. Originally the starting mark was a scratch on the ground but is now a board or precisely indicated mark. countable, uncountable
- 8 a harsh noise made by scraping wordnet
- 9 The last riders to depart in a handicap race. countable, uncountable
"Eventually the elephant and camel were despatched by themselves with two laps start of the bicyclist and horse, the motor car being scratch."
- 10 dry mash for poultry wordnet
- 11 An aberration.; A foul in pool, as where the cue ball is put into a pocket or jumps off the table. countable, uncountable
- 12 a line indicating the location of the start of a race or a game wordnet
- 13 An aberration.; A shot which scores by chance and not as intended by the player; a fluke. US, archaic, countable, slang, uncountable
- 14 a competitor who has withdrawn from competition wordnet
- 15 A horse withdrawn from a race prior to the start. countable, uncountable
"There were two scratches in race 8, which reduced the field from nine horses to seven."
- 16 informal terms for money wordnet
- 17 A minor injury. countable, uncountable
"It's just a scratch!"
- 18 a depression scratched or carved into a surface wordnet
- 19 Money; especially, cash. countable, slang, uncountable
"He and Bruce cooked up a script together, and Bruce flew home to raise the scratch."
- 20 an abraded area where the skin is torn or worn off wordnet
- 21 A feed, usually a mixture of a few common grains, given to chickens. countable, uncountable
- 22 Minute, but tender and troublesome, excoriations, covered with scabs, upon the heels of horses which have been used where it is very wet or muddy. countable, in-plural, uncountable
"These are exemplified in the scurfy, scaly affections which appear in the bend of the knee (mallenders) and hock (sallenders) and on the lower parts of the limbs, by scratches, and by a scaly exfoliation[…]."
- 23 A scratch wig. countable, historical, uncountable
"[H]e turned to him with a dejected Face, and said ‘ – pray Sir, – could you touch up This a little?’ taking hold of his frightful scratch."
- 24 A genre of Virgin Islander music, better known as fungi. countable, uncountable
- 25 Poor handwriting; especially, illegibly so. countable, uncountable
"The handwriting in his paper is completely different when compared to his scratch on the note you gave me"
- 26 Nothing, zero. Used especially in card games or sports, but also expressions like "from scatch". countable, uncountable
Verb
- 1 To rub a surface with a sharp object, especially by a living creature to remove itching with nails, claws, etc.
"Could you please scratch my back?"
- 2 cause friction wordnet
- 3 To rub the skin with rough material causing a sensation of irritation; to cause itching.
"I don't like that new scarf because it scratches my neck."
- 4 cut the surface of; wear away the surface of wordnet
- 5 To rub the skin with rough material causing a sensation of irritation; to cause itching.; To irritate someone's skin with one's unshaven beard when kissing.
Show 16 more definitions
- 6 carve, cut, or etch into a material or surface wordnet
- 7 To mark a surface with a sharp object, thereby leaving a scratch (noun).
"A real diamond can easily scratch a pane of glass."
- 8 gather (money or other resources) together over time wordnet
- 9 to get such scratches
"This platter scratches easily."
- 10 remove by erasing or crossing out or as if by drawing a line wordnet
- 11 To cross out, strike out, strike through some text on a page.
- 12 scrape or rub as if to relieve itching wordnet
- 13 To cross out, strike out, strike through some text on a page.; Hence, to remove, ignore, or delete.
"Scratch what I said earlier; I was wrong."
- 14 postpone indefinitely or annul something that was scheduled wordnet
- 15 To produce a distinctive sound on a turntable by moving a vinyl record back and forth while manipulating the crossfader (see also scratching).
- 16 To commit a foul in pool, as where the cue ball is put into a pocket or jumps off the table.
"Embarrassingly, he scratched on the break, popping the cue completely off the table."
- 17 To score, not by skillful play but by some fortunate chance of the game. US, dated
- 18 To write or draw hastily or awkwardly; scrawl.
"If any of the Labourers can ſcratch out a Pamphlet, they deſire no more; There is no Queſtion offered about the Wit, the Style, the Argument."
- 19 To dig or excavate with the claws. ambitransitive
"Some animals scratch holes, in which they burrow."
- 20 To dig or scrape (a person's skin) with claws or fingernails in self-defense or with the intention to injure.
"The cat scratched the little girl."
- 21 To announce one's non-participation in a race or sports event part of a larger sports meeting that one was previously signed up for, usually in lieu of another event at the same meeting.
"Kerley, 26, is the 2019 World bronze medalist at 400 meters, a distance he is known for and with which he also won the 2017 and 2019 U.S. titles, but surprised the track world by announcing one week ago that he scratched the 400m and would focus on the 100m and 200m in Eugene, Oregon, despite not having raced the 100m between 2015 and 2020."
Adjective
- 1 For or consisting of preliminary or tentative, incomplete, etc. work. not-comparable
"This is scratch paper, so go ahead and scribble whatever you want on it."
- 2 Hastily assembled, arranged or constructed, from whatever materials are to hand, with little or no preparation not-comparable
"A scratch company of two innocuous youths and a pacified veteran was therefore what now offered itself to Mrs. Stringham, who rustled in a little breathless and full of the compunction of having had to come alone."
- 3 Relating to a scratchpad, a data structure or recording medium attached to a machine for testing or temporary use. not-comparable
"scratch memory"
- 4 (of a player) Of a standard high enough to play without a handicap, i.e. to compete without the benefit of a variation in scoring based on ability. not-comparable
"... the shot that does most to make a genuine scratch golfer is the mashie shot up to the pin — not merely up to the green."
Proper Noun
- 1 A free educational visual programming language developed by the Massachusetts Institute of Technology Media Lab.
- 2 A surname.
Example
"Don't scratch your mosquito bite. It'll get inflamed."
Common questions
What is a synonym for "scratch"?
Common synonyms include: abrasion, mark, scar, scrape, start, ablation.
How do you use "scratch" in a sentence?
Don't scratch your mosquito bite. It'll get inflamed.
How do you pronounce "scratch"?
Pronounced /skɹæt͡ʃ/.
Etymology
Etymology 1
From Middle English scracchen, of uncertain origin. Probably a blend of Middle English scratten (“to scratch”) and cracchen (“to scratch”). More at scrat and cratch.
Etymology 2
From scratch.