Meaning of 'scratch' (Webster Dictionary)
- Made, done, or happening by chance; arranged with little
or no preparation; determined by circumstances; haphazard; as, a
scratch team; a scratch crew for a boat race; a scratch shot in
billiards.
- A break in the surface of a thing made by scratching, or
by rubbing with anything pointed or rough; a slight wound, mark,
furrow, or incision.
- A line across the prize ring; up to which boxers are
brought when they join fight; hence, test, trial, or proof of courage;
as, to bring to the scratch; to come up to the scratch.
- 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.
- A kind of wig covering only a portion of the head.
- A shot which scores by chance and not as intended by the
player; a fluke.
- To use the claws or nails in tearing or in digging; to
make scratches.
- To score, not by skillful play but by some fortunate
chance of the game.
- To rub and tear or mark the surface of with something
sharp or ragged; to scrape, roughen, or wound slightly by drawing
something pointed or rough across, as the claws, the nails, a pin, or
the like.
- To write or draw hastily or awkwardly.
- To cancel by drawing one or more lines through, as the
name of a candidate upon a ballot, or of a horse in a list; hence, to
erase; to efface; -- often with out.
- To dig or excavate with the claws; as, some animals
scratch holes, in which they burrow.
Meaning of 'scratch' (Princeton's WordNet)
Meaning (1):
- (golf) a handicap of zero strokes
Example in sentence:- a golfer who plays at scratch should be able to achieve par on a course
Meaning (2):
- a harsh noise made by scraping
Example in sentence:- the scrape of violin bows distracted her
Meaning (3):
- postpone indefinitely or annul something that was scheduled
Example in sentence:- Call off the engagement;
- cancel the dinner party;
- scratch that meeting--the chair is ill;
- we had to scrub our vacation plans
Meaning (4):
- scrape or rub as if to relieve itching
Example in sentence:- Don't scratch your insect bites!
Meaning (5):
- carve, cut, or etch into a material or surface
Example in sentence:- engrave a pen;
- engraved the trophy cup with the winner's name;
- the lovers scratched their names into the bark of the tree
Meaning (6):
- cause friction
Meaning (7):
- remove by erasing or crossing out or as if by drawing a line
Example in sentence:- Please strike this remark from the record;
- scratch that remark
Meaning (8):
- gather (money or other resources) together over time
Example in sentence:- She had scraped together enough money for college;
- they scratched a meager living
Definition
[ a.]