scratch

1. 1.

   cause friction

   “my sweater scratches”

   Synonymsrubfrayfretchafe

   Broadertouch
2. 2.

   cut the surface of; wear away the surface of

   Synonymsscrapescratch up

   Broaderincise

   Narrowerclawscuff
3. 3.

   scrape or rub as if to relieve itching

   “Don't scratch your insect bites!”

   Synonymsrubitch

   Broaderirritate
4. 4.

   postpone indefinitely or annul something that was scheduled

   “Call off the engagement”

   “cancel the dinner party”

   “we had to scrub our vacation plans”

   “scratch that meeting--the chair is ill”

   Synonymscancelcall offscrub
5. 5.

   remove by erasing or crossing out or as if by drawing a line

   “Please strike this remark from the record”

   “scratch that remark”

   Synonymsstrikeexpungeexcise

   Broaderdelete
6. 6.

   gather (money or other resources) together over time

   “She had scraped together enough money for college”

   “they scratched a meager living”

   Synonymsscrapescrape upcome up

   Broaderroll up

   Narrowernickel-and-dime
7. 7.

   carve, cut, or etch into a material or surface

   “engrave a pen”

   “engraved the trophy cup with the winner's name”

   “the lovers scratched their names into the bark of the tree”

   Synonymsengravegraveinscribe

   Broadercarve

   Narrowercharacter

Other forms of scratch

plural

scratches·

past tense

scratched·

present participle

scratching·

Forms marked · are formed by the regular rule rather than recorded in the source data. English keeps a few hundred irregulars and the rest follow the pattern, so the rule is right far more often than not — but it is a rule, and the mark says so.

Questions about scratch

What does scratch mean?

scratch means "an abraded area where the skin is torn or worn off". That is the primary sense; the word has 17 in total, listed in full on this page.

How many syllables are in scratch?

scratch has 1 syllable: scratch. In IPA it is /ˈskɹætʃ/.

What is another word for scratch?

Close synonyms include abrasion, scrape, excoriation, incision, prick. Each sense on this page lists its own synonyms, because a word with several meanings rarely has one substitute that works for all of them.

Is scratch a common word?

scratch is banded "Common" — everyday vocabulary in speech and writing. The band comes from how often the word appears in a large corpus of everyday English, not from an editor's impression.