Etymology

From Middle EnglishCategory:English terms inherited from Middle English#SCRATCHCategory:English terms derived from Middle English#SCRATCH scracchen, of uncertainCategory:English terms with unknown etymologies#SCRATCH origin. Probably a blend of Middle EnglishCategory:English terms derived from Middle English#SCRATCH scratten (“to scratch”) and cracchen (“to scratch”). More at scrat and cratch.

Pronunciation

• enPR: skrăch, IPA^(key): /skɹæt͡ʃ/Category:English 1-syllable words#SCRATCHCategory:English terms with IPA pronunciation#SCRATCH

• Audio (US):

  (file)

  Category:English terms with audio pronunciation#SCRATCH
• Rhymes: -ætʃCategory:Rhymes:English/ætʃ#SCRATCHCategory:Rhymes:English/ætʃ/1 syllable#SCRATCH

Verb

scratch (third-person singular simple present scratches, present participle scratching, simple past and past participle scratched)Category:English lemmas#SCRATCHCategory:English verbs#SCRATCHCategory:English entries with incorrect language header#SCRATCHCategory:Pages with entries#SCRATCHCategory:Pages with 5 entries#SCRATCH

2. To rub a surface with a sharp object, especially by a living creature to remove itching with nails, claws, etc.

   Synonym: scrabble

   Could you please scratch my back?

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   • 1733, [Jonathan Swift], On Poetry: A Rapsody, Dublin; London: […] [R. Fleming] [a]nd sold by J. Huggonson, […], →OCLC, pages 7–8, lines 85–90:

     Then riſing with Aurora’s Light, / The Muse invok’d, ſit down to write; / Blot out, correct, inſert, refine, / Enlarge, diminiſh, interline; / Be mindful, when Invention fails, / To ſcratch your Head, and bite your Nails.

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4. 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.

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   • 1962, Simone de Beauvoir, translated by Peter Green, The Prime of Life, Cleveland, OH: The World Publishing Company, translation of La Force de l'âge, →OCLC, page 77:

     Sometimes I lost track of them and had to hunt round in a circle, thrusting through sharp-scented bushes, scratching myself [translating m’écorchant] on various plants which were still new to me: resinaceous rock-roses, juniper, ilex, yellow and white asphodel.

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   1. To irritate someone's skin with one's unshaven beard when kissing.
6. To mark a surface with a sharp object, thereby leaving a scratch (noun).

   A real diamond can easily scratch a pane of glass.

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7. (of a surface) To get such scratches.

   This platter scratches easily.Category:English terms with usage examples#SCRATCH

9. To cross out, strike out, strike through some text on a page.
   1. Hence, to remove, ignore, or delete.

      Scratch what I said earlier; I was wrong.

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      When the favorite was scratched from the race, there was a riot at the betting windows.

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10. (musicCategory:en:Music#SCRATCH) To produce a distinctive sound on a turntable by moving a vinyl record back and forth while manipulating the crossfader (see also scratching).
11. (billiardsCategory:en:Billiards#SCRATCH) 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.Category:English terms with usage examples#SCRATCH

12. (billiardsCategory:en:Billiards#SCRATCH, datedCategory:English dated terms#SCRATCH, USCategory:American English#SCRATCH) To score, not by skillful play but by some fortunate chance of the game.
14. To write or draw hastily or awkwardly; scrawl.
    • 1714 February, [Jonathan Swift], The Publick Spirit of the Whigs: Set forth in Their Generous Encouragement of the Author of the Crisis: […], London: […] [John Barber] for John Morphew, […], →OCLC, page 1:

      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.

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15. (ambitransitiveCategory:English transitive verbs#SCRATCHCategory:English intransitive verbs#SCRATCH) To dig or excavate with the claws.

    Some animals scratch holes, in which they burrow.Category:English terms with usage examples#SCRATCH

17. 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.

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18. (swimmingCategory:en:Swimming#SCRATCH, athleticsCategory:en:Athletics#SCRATCH) 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.
    • 2021 June 21, Brandon Penny, NBC Sports‎:

      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.

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    • 2008 July 26, P-J Vazel, World Athletics‎:

      Hurtis-Houairi, in lane three, quickly caught Arron, who was in lane four, winning in 22.80. Arron, who scratched the 100m semis in order to focus on the longer sprint, could only run 23.44.

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Noun

scratch (countable and uncountable, plural scratches)Category:English lemmas#SCRATCHCategory:English nouns#SCRATCHCategory:English uncountable nouns#SCRATCHCategory:English countable nouns#SCRATCHCategory:English countable nouns#SCRATCHCategory:English entries with incorrect language header#SCRATCHCategory:Pages with entries#SCRATCHCategory:Pages with 5 entries#SCRATCH

2. A disruption, mark or shallow cut on a surface made by scratching.

   I can’t believe there is a scratch in the paint already.

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   Her skin was covered with tiny scratches.

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   • 1591 (date written), William Shakespeare, “The First Part of Henry the Sixt”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount, published 1623, →OCLC, [Act V, scene iv]:

     God forbid a shallow scratch should drive / The prince of Wales from such a field as this.

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   • 1677–1683, Joseph Moxon, “(please specify the page)”, in Mechanick Exercises, or The Doctrine of Handy-Works, […], volume (please specify |volume=I or II), London: […] Joseph Moxon, published 1678–1683, →OCLC:

     The coarse file […] makes deep scratches in the work.

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   • 1709, Matthew Prior, Henry and Emma‎, line 503:

     These nails with scratches deform my breast.

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   • 1892, Walter Besant, “Prologue: Who is Edmund Gray?”, in The Ivory Gate […], New York, N.Y.: Harper & Brothers, […], →OCLC:

     Thus, when he drew up instructions in lawyer language, he expressed the important words by an initial, a medial, or a final consonant, and made scratches for all the words between; his clerks, however, understood him very well.

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   • 1963, Margery Allingham, “Foreword”, in The China Governess: A Mystery, London: Chatto & Windus, →OCLC:

     A very neat old woman, still in her good outdoor coat and best beehive hat, was sitting at a polished mahogany table on whose surface there were several scored scratches so deep that a triangular piece of the veneer had come cleanly away, […].

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3. An act of scratching the skin to alleviate an itch or irritation.

   The dog sat up and had a good scratch.Category:English terms with usage examples#SCRATCH

4. (sportsCategory:en:Sports#SCRATCH)
   1. A starting line (originally and simply, a line scratched in the ground), as in boxing.
      • 1820, Reuben Percy, Sholto Percy, The Percy Anecdotes:

        He started a few seconds before the time and came up in speed to the scratch at the moment appointed.

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   2. 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.
   3. (cyclingCategory:en:Cycling#SCRATCH) The last riders to depart in a handicap race.
      • 1901, “Gleanings”, in The Agricultural Journal and Mining Record‎, volume 4, number 1, page 31:

        Eventually the elephant and camel were despatched by themselves with two laps start of the bicyclist and horse, the motor car being scratch.

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   4. (billiardsCategory:en:Billiards#SCRATCH) An aberration.
      1. A foul in pool, as where the cue ball is put into a pocket or jumps off the table.
      2. (archaicCategory:English terms with archaic senses#SCRATCH, USCategory:American English#SCRATCH, slangCategory:English slang#SCRATCH) A shot which scores by chance and not as intended by the player; a fluke.
   5. (horse racingCategory:en:Horse racing#SCRATCH) A horse withdrawn from a race prior to the start.

      There were two scratches in race 8, which reduced the field from nine horses to seven.Category:English terms with usage examples#SCRATCH

5. (meiosisCategory:English meioses#SCRATCH) A minor injury.

   It's just a scratch!Category:English terms with usage examples#SCRATCH

7. (slangCategory:English slang#SCRATCH) Money; especially, cash.
   • 2006, Clive James, North Face of Soho, Picador, published 2007, page 153:

     He and Bruce cooked up a script together, and Bruce flew home to raise the scratch.

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9. A feed, usually a mixture of a few common grains, given to chickens.

   Synonym: chicken scratch

10. (in the plural) 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.
    • 1887, James Law, The Farmer's Veterinary Adviser:

      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 […].

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11. (now historicalCategory:English terms with historical senses#SCRATCH) A scratch wig.
    • 1775, Frances Burney, Journals & Letters, Penguin 2001, 26 March:

      [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.

12. (musicCategory:en:Music#SCRATCH) A genre of Virgin Islander music, better known as fungi.
14. Poor handwriting; especially, illegibly so.

    Synonyms: chicken scratch, scrawl

    • 2017, P. L. Hawks, I Love Paris:

      The handwriting in his paper is completely different when compared to his scratch on the note you gave me

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15. Nothing, zero. Used especially in card games or sports, but also expressions like "from scratch".

Adjective

scratch (not comparable)Category:English lemmas#SCRATCHCategory:English adjectives#SCRATCHCategory:English uncomparable adjectives#SCRATCHCategory:English entries with incorrect language header#SCRATCHCategory:Pages with entries#SCRATCHCategory:Pages with 5 entries#SCRATCH

1. For or consisting of preliminary or tentative, incomplete, etc. work.

   This is scratch paper, so go ahead and scribble whatever you want on it.Category:English terms with usage examples#SCRATCH

2. Hastily assembled, arranged or constructed, from whatever materials are to hand, with little or no preparation
   • 1902, Henry James, The Wings of the Dove:

     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.

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   • 1988, James McPherson, Battle Cry of Freedom, Oxford, published 2004, page 740:

     Bluecoats began crossing the James on June 14 and next day two corps approached Petersburg, which was held by Beauregard with a scratch force of 2,500.

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3. (computingCategory:en:Computing#SCRATCH) Relating to a scratchpad, a data structure or recording medium attached to a machine for testing or temporary use.

   scratch memory

4. (sportsCategory:en:Sports#SCRATCH) (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.
   • 1964, Charles Price, The American golfer, page 48:

     ... 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.

     Category:English terms with quotations#SCRATCH

References

• Douglas Harper (2001–2026), “scratch”, in Online Etymology Dictionary.
• The Jargon File - Scratch

Etymology

Borrowed from EnglishCategory:French terms borrowed from English#SCRATCHCategory:French terms derived from English#SCRATCH scratch.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /skʁatʃ/Category:French 1-syllable words#SCRATCHCategory:French terms with IPA pronunciation#SCRATCH

• Audio:

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  Category:French terms with audio pronunciation#SCRATCH

• Audio (France (Toulouse)):

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• Audio (France (Vosges)):

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• Audio (France):

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• Audio (France (Lyon)):

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• Audio (France (Somain)):

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Noun

scratch m (plural scratchs)Category:French lemmas#SCRATCHCategory:French nouns#SCRATCHCategory:French countable nouns#SCRATCHCategory:French entries with incorrect language header#SCRATCHCategory:French masculine nouns#SCRATCHCategory:Pages with entries#SCRATCHCategory:Pages with 5 entries#SCRATCH

1. Velcro

   Synonym: velcro

Further reading

• “scratch”, in Trésor de la langue française informatisé [Digitized Treasury of the French Language], 2012

Etymology

Borrowed from EnglishCategory:Italian terms borrowed from English#SCRATCHCategory:Italian terms derived from English#SCRATCH scratch.

Noun

scratch m (invariable)Category:Italian lemmas#SCRATCHCategory:Italian nouns#SCRATCHCategory:Italian countable nouns#SCRATCHCategory:Italian indeclinable nouns#SCRATCHCategory:Italian entries with incorrect language header#SCRATCHCategory:Italian masculine nouns#SCRATCHCategory:Pages with entries#SCRATCHCategory:Pages with 5 entries#SCRATCH

1. (musicCategory:it:Music#SCRATCH) scratch

Etymology

Unadapted borrowing from EnglishCategory:Polish terms borrowed from English#SCRATCHCategory:Polish unadapted borrowings from English#SCRATCHCategory:Polish terms derived from English#SCRATCH scratch.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈskrɛt͡ʂ/Category:Polish 1-syllable words#SCRATCHCategory:Polish terms with IPA pronunciation#SCRATCH
• Rhymes: -ɛt͡ʂCategory:Rhymes:Polish/ɛt͡ʂ#SCRATCHCategory:Rhymes:Polish/ɛt͡ʂ/1 syllable#SCRATCH
• Syllabification: scratch
• Homophone: skreczCategory:Polish terms with homophones#SCRATCH

Noun

scratch m inanCategory:Polish lemmas#SCRATCHCategory:Polish nouns#SCRATCHCategory:Polish entries with incorrect language header#SCRATCHCategory:Polish masculine nouns#SCRATCHCategory:Polish inanimate nouns#SCRATCHCategory:Pages with entries#SCRATCHCategory:Pages with 5 entries#SCRATCH

1. (cyclingCategory:pl:Cycling#SCRATCH, musicCategory:pl:Music#SCRATCH, tennisCategory:pl:Tennis#SCRATCH) alternative spelling of skrecz

Further reading

• “scratch”, in Wielki słownik języka polskiego‎ (in Polish), Instytut Języka Polskiego PAN
• “scratch”, in Polish dictionaries at PWN‎ (in Polish)

Etymology

Unadapted borrowing from EnglishCategory:Spanish terms borrowed from English#SCRATCHCategory:Spanish unadapted borrowings from English#SCRATCHCategory:Spanish terms derived from English#SCRATCH scratch.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /esˈkɾat͡ʃ/ [esˈkɾat͡ʃ]Category:Spanish 2-syllable words#SCRATCHCategory:Spanish terms with IPA pronunciation#SCRATCH
• Rhymes: -atʃCategory:Rhymes:Spanish/atʃ#SCRATCHCategory:Rhymes:Spanish/atʃ/2 syllables#SCRATCH

Noun

scratch m (plural scratchs)Category:Spanish lemmas#SCRATCHCategory:Spanish nouns#SCRATCHCategory:Spanish countable nouns#SCRATCHCategory:Spanish entries with incorrect language header#SCRATCHCategory:Spanish masculine nouns#SCRATCHCategory:Pages with entries#SCRATCHCategory:Pages with 5 entries#SCRATCH

1. (musicCategory:es:Music#SCRATCH) scratch