| The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language: Fourth Edition. 2000. |
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| scratch |
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| PRONUNCIATION: |  skr ch |
| VERB: | Inflected forms: scratched, scratch·ing, scratch·es
| | TRANSITIVE VERB: | 1. To make a thin shallow cut or mark on (a surface) with a sharp instrument. 2. To use the nails or claws to dig or scrape at. 3. To rub or scrape (the skin) to relieve itching. 4. To scrape or strike on an abrasive surface. 5. To write or draw (something) by scraping a surface: scratched their initials on a rock. 6. To write or draw hurriedly: scratched off a thank-you note. 7a. To strike out or cancel (a word, for example) by or as if by drawing lines through. b. Slang To cancel (a project or program, for example). 8. To withdraw (an entry) from a contest. | | INTRANSITIVE VERB: | 1. To use the nails or claws to dig, scrape, or wound. 2. To rub or scrape the skin to relieve itching. 3. To make a harsh scraping sound. 4. To gather funds or produce a living with difficulty. 5a. To withdraw from a contest. b. Games To make a shot in billiards that results in a penalty, as when the cue ball falls into a pocket or jumps the cushion. | | NOUN: | 1a. A mark resembling a line that is produced by scratching. b. A slight wound. 2. A hasty scribble. 3. A sound made by scratching. 4a. Sports The starting line for a race. b. A contestant who has been withdrawn from a competition. 5. Games a. The act of scratching in billiards. b. A fluke or chance shot in billiards. 6. Poultry feed. 7. Slang Money. | | ADJECTIVE: | 1. Done haphazardly or by chance. 2. Assembled hastily or at random. 3. Sports Having no golf handicap. | | IDIOMS: | from scratch From the very beginning. scratch the surface To investigate or treat something superficially. up to scratch Informal 1. Meeting the requirements. 2. In fit condition. | | ETYMOLOGY: | Middle English scracchen, probably blend of scratten, to scratch, and cracchen, to scratch (possibly from Middle Dutch cratsen). | | OTHER FORMS: | scratch er —NOUN
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| The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition. Copyright © 2000 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Published by the Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved. |
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