scratch
Pluralscratches
Verbscratches, scratching, scratched
Pluralscratches
Formsscratches, scratching, scratched
- 1A mark or shallow cut on a surface, including the skin, made by something sharp scraping across it.
The phone screen had a deep scratch across one corner.
Years of use had left fine scratches in the wooden countertop.
UsageOften with a size word, a deep scratch, fine scratches; without a scratch means unhurt.
Similarscrape, graze, scuff, mark, nick
Note
The mark has served skin and worked material alike for centuries. In Shakespeare's Henry IV, Part 1, a "shallow scratch" should not drive the prince of Wales from the field. In Joseph Moxon's Mechanick Exercises, a coarse file "makes deep scratches in the work."
Checked 2 Nov 2026 · 3 facts
- The noun has described marks on skin and worked material for centuries, as the Shakespeare and Moxon examples illustrate. archive.org
- In Shakespeare's Henry IV, Part 1, Prince Henry describes his wound as a shallow scratch and refuses to leave the field. upload.wikimedia.org
- Joseph Moxon's Mechanick Exercises says that a coarse file makes deep scratches in the work. archive.org
- 2To rub a surface with the nails, claws, or another sharp object, especially to relieve an itch.
Cats scratch themselves constantly during flea season.
He absentmindedly scratched the back of his neck during the meeting.
UsageScratch your head can also show that you are puzzled about something.
Note
Head-scratching as the gesture of a stuck mind is old. Jonathan Swift's On Poetry: A Rapsody (1733) advises the poet whose invention fails "To scratch your Head, and bite your Nails."
Checked 2 Nov 2026 · 3 facts
- Head-scratching as a response to difficulty thinking is historically attested. en.wikisource.org
- Jonathan Swift's On Poetry: A Rapsody was first published in 1733. en.wikipedia.org
- The poem advises a poet whose invention fails to scratch his head and bite his nails; the quoted wording is accurate. en.wikisource.org
- 3Nothing or zero, especially as a starting point or score in games and sports.
After the merger collapsed, the founders started again from scratch.
She baked the birthday cake from scratch instead of using a boxed mix.
UsageUsually in from scratch: start from scratch, bake a cake from scratch.
Note
The idiom points back to the scratched starting line, where a competitor with no head start began.
Checked 2 Nov 2026 · 1 fact
- The idiom derives from a starting line scratched in the ground, from which competitors receiving no head start began. en.wiktionary.org
- 4To mark or damage a surface with something sharp or rough, leaving thin lines or shallow cuts; (of a surface) to become marked in this way.
Moving the furniture without pads will scratch the hardwood floor.
The diamond scratched the glass easily, confirming its hardness.
- 5To rake a person's skin with nails or claws, whether to defend oneself or to hurt them.
Cornered animals may bite or scratch anyone who comes too close.
The toddler scratched his sister's cheek during the squabble over the toy.
Similarclaw
- 6To cancel, delete, or remove something, such as an item from a list or plan, often by drawing a line through written words.
We can scratch that idea, since the budget won't cover it.
The favorite was scratched from the race an hour before post time.
UsageIn speech, Scratch that takes back what you just said; a horse or player is scratched from a race or lineup.
- 7To create a distinctive sound by rocking a vinyl record to and fro on a turntable, often while working the crossfader.
She spent years learning to scratch before her first club booking.
The DJ scratched over the breakbeat, hyping up the crowd.
Note
The record is pushed back and forth on the turntable often while the crossfader cuts the signal in and out, and the craft as a whole is called scratching.
- 8
- 9To withdraw from a race or event at a sports meet one had entered, often in order to focus on another event at the same meet.
Swimmers often scratch from the 100-meter race to rest for the relay later that night.
The favorite scratched from the 400 individual medley an hour before the session.
UsageUsually scratch from an event: she scratched from the 200-meter race.
Similarwithdraw
Note
The motive is often tactical: saving energy for another race at the same meet. Compare the general "remove" sense, where a horse is scratched by others.
- 10Used for rough, preliminary, or temporary work, such as notes, drafts, or test data, that is not meant to be kept.
She kept a scratch notebook for half-formed ideas.
Save your scratch calculations in case the final figures don't add up.
UsageGoes before the noun: scratch paper, a scratch pad, scratch work.
Similarrough, preliminary, temporary
Note
The work it labels is meant to be scribbled on and thrown away. Compare the "thrown-together" adjective, which describes how something was assembled rather than what it is for.
Less common meanings
- 11An act of rubbing the skin with the nails or claws to relieve an itch or irritation.
A good scratch between the shoulder blades brought instant relief.
The cat leaned into the scratch under its chin and purred.
UsageUsually have a scratch or give something a scratch, often a good scratch.
Similarrub
- 12To write or draw something hastily or awkwardly, producing rough or untidy marks; to scrawl.
Reporters scratch quick notes during press conferences, then type them up later.
She scratched a rough sketch of the floor plan on a napkin.
UsageScratch out can mean write hurriedly, as in scratch out a note, or cross out existing text. Context tells you which.
Note
Here the pen behaves like a claw, and what it leaves is quick and rough. Paired with out, the verb names hurried production: in Jonathan Swift's The Publick Spirit of the Whigs (1714), the hack who can scratch out a pamphlet faces no question about wit, style or argument.
Checked 2 Nov 2026 · 3 facts
- Jonathan Swift wrote The Publick Spirit of the Whigs. en.wikisource.org
- The work was first published in 1714. openlibrary.org
- Swift describes pamphlet writers whose patrons ask no questions about their wit, style or argument. en.wikisource.org
- 13Scrawled or illegible handwriting, marked by hasty, careless strokes.
Her grocery list was a page of chicken scratch that only she could read.
The note on the fridge was written in such hurried chicken scratch that nobody could tell what it said.
UsageMost often in chicken scratch: my notes were pure chicken scratch.
Note
A person's scratch can mean their habitual untidy hand. That is how P. L. Hawks's I Love Paris (2017) can set "his scratch on the note" against the handwriting in his paper.
Checked 2 Nov 2026 · 2 facts
- I Love Paris is attributed to P. L. Hawks. en.wiktionary.org
- The cited passage contrasts handwriting in a paper with 'his scratch on the note'; Wiktionary reproduces the wording. en.wiktionary.org
- 14Hastily assembled or put together from whatever materials are at hand, with little or no preparation.
A scratch crew of volunteers got the stage built by nightfall.
The band gave a surprisingly tight performance for such a scratch outfit.
UsageGoes before nouns for groups: a scratch team, a scratch force, a scratch crew.
Similarmakeshift, improvised, impromptu
Note
Military and social writing both reach for this adjective when a group is improvised. Henry James's The Wings of the Dove (1902) assembles "a scratch company of two innocuous youths and a pacified veteran." James McPherson's Battle Cry of Freedom (1988) has Beauregard holding Petersburg with "a scratch force of 2,500."
Checked 2 Nov 2026 · 4 facts
- Henry James wrote The Wings of the Dove, first published in 1902. en.wikipedia.org
- The quoted description appears in the novel's narration. gutenberg.org
- James McPherson wrote Battle Cry of Freedom, first published in 1988. archive.org
- McPherson describes Beauregard holding Petersburg with the quoted force of 2,500. en.wiktionary.org
- 15(Of something rough, such as wool or stubble) to rub against the skin, causing irritation or an itching feeling.
Cheap wool sweaters scratch terribly against bare skin.
The starched collar scratched his neck all through the ceremony.
UsageThe adjective scratchy is common here: a scratchy wool sweater.
- 16Of a player, especially in golf, skilled enough to compete without a handicap or any scoring adjustment based on ability.
He's been a scratch golfer since his early twenties.
The club championship drew several scratch players from around the state.
UsageMostly in a scratch golfer or a scratch player.
Note
A golfer's term above all: a scratch player's handicap is zero, so their score needs no adjustment. The idea goes back to the old starting line, where the strongest competitor starts from the mark itself, with no allowance. Charles Price's The American golfer (1964) credits the mashie shot up to the pin with making "a genuine scratch golfer."
Checked 1 Nov 2026 · 2 facts
- A scratch golfer has a handicap of zero. rulesworkshops.usga.org
- The historical sporting scratch was the starting mark from which a competitor started without an allowance. en.wiktionary.org
- 17A racehorse pulled from its race ahead of the start.
The morning-line favorite became a late scratch after a poor warm-up.
Track announcers read out the scratches before each race.
UsageOften a late scratch, for a horse withdrawn close to the start.
Similarwithdrawal
Note
Racing uses the noun for the horse itself as well as for the act of withdrawing it. Two scratches in a race means two horses gone, and a field of nine becomes seven.
Checked 2 Nov 2026 · 1 fact
- Two scratches reduce a field of nine horses to seven. en.wiktionary.org
- 18A feed for chickens consisting of a mixture of a few common grains, such as cracked corn, wheat, and oats.
He scatters scratch across the yard so the flock can forage for it.
Too much scratch in place of balanced feed can hurt egg production.
- 19To commit a foul in pool, typically by pocketing the cue ball or knocking it off the table.
If you scratch while shooting the eight ball, you lose the game.
He scratched on the break and handed his opponent the cue ball.
UsageOften with on: you scratch on the break or on the eight ball.
Note
Sinking the cue ball is the classic way to do it, and popping it off the table counts too. The foul itself is named by the matching noun, so a player who scratches has made a scratch.
Checked 2 Nov 2026 · 2 facts
- Pocketing the cue ball or driving it off the table is a foul in pool. wpapool.com
- The corresponding pool foul is called a scratch. en.wiktionary.org
- 20A foul in pool, as when the cue ball is pocketed or jumps off the table.
A scratch on the break gives your opponent the cue ball in hand.
After three scratches in one rack, he set his cue down in disgust.
Similarfoul
Note
The noun behind the pool verb: a player who scratches has made a scratch. It shares the idea of a shot going astray with the old "fluke" sense, but the two point opposite ways. This one costs the player, while the archaic one rewarded a lucky shot.
Checked 1 Nov 2026 · 3 facts
- Scratch is the noun corresponding to the pool verb. en.wiktionary.org
- A scratch penalizes the player. wpapool.com
- The archaic billiards sense denotes an unintended scoring shot, or fluke. en.wiktionary.org
- 21A starting line, originally a simple line marked in the dirt, as in early boxing matches.
Under the old prize-ring rules, a downed fighter had only a short count to return to the scratch.
Sprinters in early footraces toed the scratch while officials checked their positions.
Similarmark
Note
A line scratched in the earth gave sport its starting mark, and the name stayed after the line itself disappeared. Racers and boxers alike had to come "up to the scratch," and a racer already comes "to the scratch" in the Percy Anecdotes of the early 1820s. The everyday up to scratch, meaning good enough, grows from it. Several sporting senses of the word trace back to this line.
- 22A foul in events such as the long jump, discus, or shot put, committed by touching or going beyond the starting board or mark during an attempt.
The jump measured over seven meters, but officials ruled it a scratch.
Three scratches in the trials eliminated him from the final.
Similarfoul
Note
Field events keep the old line as a limit that must not be crossed. Step past the take-off line, or onto the top of the stop board, and the attempt counts for nothing, however far the jump or throw travels. The name is a relic of the scratched starting line, since the boundary was once literally drawn in the dirt.
Checked 1 Nov 2026 · 4 facts
- The field-event sense derives from a boundary originally scratched in the ground. en.wiktionary.org
- Touching the long-jump take-off board is permitted; the relevant foul concerns breaking the take-off line's vertical plane with the front of the take-off foot or shoe. Shot-putters may touch the inside of the stop board. worldathletics.org
- A foul at the long-jump take-off line invalidates the jump regardless of distance. worldathletics.org
- The name preserves the earlier scratched boundary. en.wiktionary.org
- 23Money.
She's been picking up extra shifts to put together enough scratch for a deposit.
That vintage guitar will cost you some serious scratch.
UsageUsually without a: some scratch, serious scratch, raise the scratch.
Similarcash, dough, money, bread
Note
In Clive James's North Face of Soho (2006), Bruce flies home "to raise the scratch" for a script he and a friend have cooked up.
Checked 2 Nov 2026 · 2 facts
- Clive James wrote North Face of Soho, first published in 2006. archive.clivejames.com
- The book describes Bruce flying home to fund a jointly devised script and uses the exact phrase “to raise the scratch.” en.wiktionary.org
- 24A shot that scores by luck rather than as the player intended; a fluke.
Note
In pool it is archaic, though carom billiards still uses it. Today's pool players hear scratch as the cue-ball foul and would take it to mean the opposite.
- 25In a handicap race, the group of riders who depart last, having been given no head start because they are the strongest.
- 26To win a point or make a shot through luck instead of skill.
- 27Small painful scabby sores on a horse's heels, caused by standing in wet or muddy ground.
- 28A small wig that covers only part of the head.
[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.
1775, Frances Burney, Journals & Letters - 29A style of folk music from the Virgin Islands, more often called fungi.
Showing meanings only.
Practice
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Origin
Scracchen, the Middle English source, has no certain origin. One possibility is that it blended scratten and cracchen, two Middle English verbs that both meant "to scratch."