What does "scratch" mean?
Scratch: To write or draw hastily or awkwardly. Scratch out a pamphlet." Swift.
Additional senses
- 2.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.
- 3.To dig or excavate with the claws; as, some animals scratch holes, in which they burrow. To scratch a ticket, to cancel one or more names of candidates on a party ballot; to refuse to vote the party ticket in its entirety. [U.S.]
- 4.To use the claws or nails in tearing or in digging; to make scratches. Dull, tame things, . . . that will neither bite nor scratch. Dr. H. More.
- 5.(Billiards) To score, not by skillful play but by some fortunate chance of the game. [Cant, U.S.]
- 6.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. The coarse file . . . makes deep scratches in the work. Moxon. These nails with scratches deform my breast. Prior. God forbid a shallow scratch should drive The prince of Wales from such a field as this. Shak.
- 7.(Pugilistic Matches) 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. [Cant] Grose.
- 8.pl. (Far.) 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. Law (Farmer's Veter. Adviser).
- 9.A kind of wig covering only a portion of the head.
- 10.(Billiards) A shot which scores by chance and not as intended by the player; a fluke. [Cant, U.S.] Scratch cradle. See Cratch cradle, under Cratch. -- Scratch grass (Bot.), a climbing knotweed (Polygonum sagittatum) with a square stem beset with fine recurved prickles along the angles. -- Scratch wig. Same as Scratch, 4, above. Thackeray.
- 11.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. [Slang] Scratch race, one without restrictions regarding the entrance of competitors; also, one for which the competitors are chosen by lot.
Sources
- Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913 edition (public domain, via GCIDE / Project Gutenberg).
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- Published: 2026-07-17T00:00:00-07:00 · Modified: 2026-07-17T00:00:00-07:00