Scud

//skʌd// adj, name, noun, verb, slang

adj, name, noun, verb, slang ·Common ·Middle school level

Definitions

Noun
  1. 1
    The act of scudding. countable, uncountable
  2. 2
    the act of moving along swiftly (as before a gale) wordnet
  3. 3
    Clouds or rain(s) (or snow, etc) driven by the wind. countable, uncountable

    "But high above the flying scud and dark-rolling clouds, there floated a little isle of sunlight, from which beamed forth an angel's face […]"

  4. 4
    A loose formation of small ragged cloud fragments (or fog) not attached to a larger higher cloud layer. uncountable

    "Small, ragged, low cloud fragments that are unattached to a larger cloud base and often seen with and behind cold fronts and thunderstorm gust fronts. Such clouds generally are associated with cool moist air, such as thunderstorm outflow."

  5. 5
    A gust of wind. countable, uncountable
Show 8 more definitions
  1. 6
    A scab on a wound. countable, uncountable
  2. 7
    A small flight of larks, or other birds, less than a flock. countable, uncountable
  3. 8
    Any swimming amphipod, usually Gammarus countable, uncountable
  4. 9
    A swift runner. countable, uncountable
  5. 10
    A form of garden hoe. countable, uncountable
  6. 11
    A slap; a sharp stroke. countable, uncountable
  7. 12
    Pornography. Scotland, slang, uncountable
  8. 13
    The drink Irn-Bru. Scotland, slang, uncountable

    "a bottle of scud"

Verb
  1. 1
    To race along swiftly (especially used of clouds). intransitive

    "clouds scudding across the sky"

  2. 2
    run before a gale wordnet
  3. 3
    To run, or be driven, before a high wind with few or no sails set. ambitransitive

    "If the Main Topsail should by any accident be split, it will be still necessary to have a lofty Sail set in such a Sea, and the close reefed Topsail singly will be the best to scud under."

  4. 4
    run or move very quickly or hastily wordnet
  5. 5
    To hit or slap. Northumbria
Show 3 more definitions
  1. 6
    To speed. Northumbria
  2. 7
    To skim flat stones so they skip along the water. Northumbria
  3. 8
    To scrape (skins) to remove hair etc. as part of the tanning process.
Adjective
  1. 1
    Naked. Scotland, slang
Proper Noun
  1. 1
    A Soviet-developed tactical ballistic missile.

Synonyms

All synonyms
dartalto-cumulusalto-stratusanvil cloudbanner cloudbillowy cloud

Antonyms

All antonyms
clad

Example

More examples

"When scudding on from snare to snare I plied My anxious visitation, hurrying on, Still hurrying hurrying onward ..."

Etymology

Etymology 1

From Middle English scud (“incrustation, scurf, scab, peel, shedding”), perhaps from Old Norse skjóta (“to shoot, push, throw off, shed”) (see also scoot).

Etymology 2

The term comes from the NATO reporting name SS-1 Scud which was attached to the missile by Western intelligence agencies.

Related phrases

scud cloudscud runscudding sailballistic missile

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Data sourced from Wiktionary, WordNet, CMU, and other open linguistic databases. Updated March 2026.