scratch
skrach
- n an abraded area where the skin is torn or worn off
- n a depression scratched or carved into a surface
- n informal terms for money
- n a competitor who has withdrawn from competition
- n a line indicating the location of the start of a race or a game
- n dry mash for poultry
- n a harsh noise made by scraping
- n poor handwriting
- n (golf) a handicap of zero strokes
a golfer who plays at scratch should be able to achieve par on a course - n an indication of damage
- v cause friction
my sweater scratches - v cut the surface of; wear away the surface of
- v scrape or rub as if to relieve itching
Don't scratch your insect bites! - v postpone indefinitely or annul something that was scheduled
scratch that meeting--the chair is ill - v remove by erasing or crossing out or as if by drawing a line
scratch that remark - v gather (money or other resources) together over time
they scratched a meager living - v carve, cut, or etch into a material or surface
the lovers scratched their names into the bark of the tree
- Not since Brasilia and Chandigarh in the 1950s and '60s has any country set out to build a city from scratch on such a scale.
- Greater reliance on scratch tickets and higher prices for thema couple of states have tried $50 scratchersare trends in recent years.
- The story of Sonia Gandhi, 61, is remarkable at every level, and the fairy-tale metaphor barely begins to scratch the surface of its extraordinariness.