What does "scut" mean?
A hare; (hunting, also figuratively) a hare as the game in a hunt.
Scut
/skʌt/ noun, verb, slang
noun, verb, slang ·Moderate ·High school level
Meaning at a glance
- Primary sense: A hare; (hunting, also figuratively) a hare as the game in a hunt.
- Grammar: scut is listed as noun, verb, slang.
- Nearest alternatives: clerical task, drudge task, git, menial task.
- Useful contrasts: core assignment, head, meaningful task.
- Usage evidence: Shakespeare's use of the word scut may be a sly reference to Mistress Ford's pudenda: see sense 3.
How to use "scut"
- Start with the primary definition, then check the part of speech before placing the word in a sentence.
- Compare nearby synonyms to make sure "scut" 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 "scut" 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 "scut" as the right word for your sentence.
If your draft is formal, technical, persuasive, or sensitive, compare "scut" 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 "scut" 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 "clerical task" 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.
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Final meaning check
Before publishing a sentence with "scut", 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 hare; (hunting, also figuratively) a hare as the game in a hunt. obsolete
- 2 A contemptible person. Ireland, colloquial
""I'll have no more of it. I'll have no more Dinny Ryans handlin' flesh and blood of my gettin'. Ye'd see me dyin' for a sup of drink to give me peace, and you philanderin' and danderin' with yon scut of a fellow, and worse doin's behind that, if the truth is told.""
- 3 Distasteful work; drudgery attributive, countable, uncountable
"Let's devote mornings to the scut, do real work in the afternoon."
- 4 a short erect tail wordnet
- 5 A short, erect tail, as of a hare, rabbit, or deer.
"Shakespeare's use of the word scut may be a sly reference to Mistress Ford's pudenda: see sense 3."
Show 2 more definitions
- 6 Some menial procedure left for a doctor or medical student to complete, sometimes for training purposes. countable, slang, uncountable
"There's no question that it's sexist. [Female residents] are berated more on rounds, given more scut to do."
- 7 The buttocks or rump; also, the female pudenda, the vulva. broadly
"I rumpled her Feathers, and tickled her Scut, / And play'd the round Rubbers at two handed Put."
Verb
- 1 To scamper off. East-Anglia, Yorkshire, intransitive
"―A fat lot you know about it, Thunder! Wells said. I know why they scut."
Synonyms
All synonymsAntonyms
Example
"Shakespeare's use of the word scut may be a sly reference to Mistress Ford's pudenda: see sense 3."
Common questions
What is a synonym for "scut"?
Common synonyms include: clerical task, drudge task, git, menial task, tail, tedious work.
How do you use "scut" in a sentence?
Shakespeare's use of the word scut may be a sly reference to Mistress Ford's pudenda: see sense 3.
How do you pronounce "scut"?
Pronounced /skʌt/.
Etymology
Etymology 1
From Middle English scut (“hare”); further etymology uncertain, possibly related to Middle English scut, scute (“short”), possibly from Old French escorter, escurter, or Latin excurtāre, scurtāre, from curtō (“to cut short, shorten”), from curtus (“short; shortened”) (from Proto-Indo-European *(s)ker- (“to cut off”)) + -ō. A derivation from Old Norse skut, skutr (“stern of a boat”), or Icelandic skott (“animal's tail”) is thought to be unlikely. As to sense 3 (“the female pudenda, the vulva”), see the letter of 5 June 1875 from Joseph Crosby to Joseph Parker Norris published in One Touch of Shakespeare (1986).
Etymology 2
Uncertain, possibly a variant of scout (“(obsolete except Scotland) contemptible person”), possibly related to scout (“to reject with contempt; to scoff”), from a North Germanic language; compare Old Norse skúta, skúte (“a taunt”), probably from Proto-Germanic *skeutaną (“to shoot”), from Proto-Indo-European *(s)kewd- (“to shoot; to throw”). Compare Old Norse skútyrði, skotyrði (“abusive language”).
Etymology 3
Uncertain; perhaps related to scut (“contemptible person”): see etymology 2.
Etymology 4
Origin unknown; perhaps from scut(tle), or related to Swedish scutla (“to leap”).