to break, mar, or mark the surface of by rubbing, scraping, or tearing with something sharp or rough: to scratch one's hand on a nail.
to dig, scrape, or tear (something) out or off with or as if with the nails, claws, etc.: to scratch the burs off one's coat.
to rub or scrape slightly, as with the fingernails, to relieve itching.
to rub or draw along a rough, grating surface: to scratch a match on the sidewalk.
to erase, cancel, strike out, or eliminate (a name, something written, etc.) by or as if by drawing a line through it (often followed by out): Scratch out the third name on the list.
to withdraw (an entry) from a race or competition.
U.S. Politics.
to divide (one's vote) though predominantly supporting one political party or faction.
to strike out or reject a particular name or names on (a party ticket) in voting.
to write or draw by scraping or cutting the lines into a surface: She scratched her initials on the glass.
to manipulate (a phonograph record) back and forth under the stylus to produce rhythmic sounds.
verb (used without object)
to use the nails, claws, etc., for tearing, digging, etc.
to relieve itching by rubbing or scraping lightly, as with the fingernails.
to make a slight grating noise, as a pen.
to earn a living or to manage in any respect with great difficulty: We scratched along that year on very little money.
to withdraw or be withdrawn from a contest or competition.
(in certain card games) to make no score; earn no points.
Billiards, Pool. to make a shot that results in a penalty, especially to pocket the cue ball without hitting the object ball.
noun
a slight injury, mar, or mark, usually thin and shallow, caused by scratching: three scratches on my leg; a noticeable scratch on the table.
a rough mark made by a pen, pencil, etc.; scrawl.
an act of scratching.
the slight grating sound caused by scratching.
the starting place, starting time, or status of a competitor in a handicap who has no allowance and no penalty.
Billiards, Pool.
a shot resulting in a penalty, especially a pocketing of the cue ball without hitting the object ball.
a fluke or lucky shot.
(in certain card games) a score of zero; nothing.
Baseball. scratch hit.
scratch wig.
Slang. money; cash.
adjective
used for hasty writing, notes, etc.: scratch paper.
without any allowance, penalty, or handicap, as a competitor or contestant.
Informal. done by or dependent on chance: a scratch shot.
Informal. gathered hastily and indiscriminately: a scratch crew.
done or made from scratch: a scratch cake.
Idioms for scratch
from scratch,
from the very beginning or starting point.
from nothing; without resources: After the depression he started another business from scratch.
up to scratch, in conformity with a certain standard; adequate; satisfactory: The local symphony orchestra has improved this year, but it is still not up to scratch.
Origin of scratch
1425–75; late Middle English scracche (v.), blend of Middle English scratte to scratch, and cracche to scratch; cognate with Middle Dutch cratsen
1730–40; alteration of scrat hermaphrodite (late Middle English scratte; compare Old English scritta (once), which may be an error for *scratta); cognate with Old Norse skratti devil, goblin, wizard, Old High German skraz wood-demon
In other industries, however, there may be an opportunity to update existing content instead of creating something from scratch that heavily overlaps with what you’ve already published.
How content consolidation can help boost your rankings|George Nguyen|September 10, 2020|Search Engine Land
By helping us get smarter together, community intelligence holds untapped potential of which we are just starting to scratch the surface.
The race for a COVID-19 vaccine shows the power of ‘community intelligence’|matthewheimer|September 9, 2020|Fortune
This is certainly a good time-saver, but if you want to start again from scratch, that’s fine too.
How to get started using a password manager|David Nield|September 8, 2020|Popular Science
Neural networks can learn these rules from scratch, by trial and error, but that takes lots of time, computing power, and data—all of which can be expensive.
Disco, bell bottoms, big hair…and cutting-edge A.I.?|Jeremy Kahn|September 8, 2020|Fortune
What Dom and I have hit upon is a way to do everything from scratch that lets you start off working model-independently.
Conducting the Mathematical Orchestra From the Middle|Rachel Crowell|September 2, 2020|Quanta Magazine
“Scratch a liberal, find a fascist every time,” Woods tweeted in April.
How James Woods Became Obama’s Biggest Twitter Troll|Asawin Suebsaeng|December 31, 2014|DAILY BEAST
Starting from scratch is never easy—and the team of journalists had serious competitors in Russia's state-owned media.
Russia’s Freest Website Now Lives in Latvia|Anna Nemtsova|November 29, 2014|DAILY BEAST
“In the past, my goal was to have you scratch your head and then maybe nod it,” she says.
From Church of Christ to Pansexual Rapper|Tyler Gillespie|November 28, 2014|DAILY BEAST
“They are basically telling the FSA that they are not part of their plans and they are going to start from scratch,” he said.
No Syrian Rebels Allowed at ISIS War Conference|Josh Rogin|October 14, 2014|DAILY BEAST
Andre Torres, the former editor of Scratch Magazine, which began as an imprint of XXL, remembers similar hostile situations.
It Was All a Dream: Drama, Bullshit, and the Rebirth of The Source Magazine|Alex Suskind|October 14, 2014|DAILY BEAST
Several officers got very sore eyes, and the only thing to do with a scratch was to dab it with iodine at once.
A Prisoner in Turkey|John Still
There was a large sand pit in which we could walk about and scratch as we liked.
Hans Andersen's Fairy Tales|Hans Christian Andersen
Again the dog barked and put his nose to the ground, while, with his feet, he began to scratch among the leaves.
The Broncho Rider Boys with the Texas Rangers|Frank Fowler
Malicorne began to scratch his ear, as he asked, "What time did the king fix for the rendezvous in your apartments?"
Louise de la Valliere|Alexandre Dumas, Pere
The judge passed nimbly around the desk and shook the Scratch Hiller warmly by the hand.
The Prodigal Judge|Vaughan Kester
British Dictionary definitions for scratch
scratch
/ (skrætʃ) /
verb
to mark or cut (the surface of something) with a rough or sharp instrument
(often foll by at, out, off, etc) to scrape (the surface of something), as with claws, nails, etc
to scrape (the surface of the skin) with the nails, as to relieve itching
to chafe or irritate (a surface, esp the skin)
to make or cause to make a grating sound; scrape
(tr sometimes foll by out) to erase by or as if by scraping
(tr)to write or draw awkwardly
(intr sometimes foll by along) to earn a living, manage, etc, with difficulty
to withdraw (an entry) from a race, match, etc
(intr)billiardssnooker
to make a shot resulting in a penalty
to make a lucky shot
(tr)USto cancel (the name of a candidate) from a party ticket in an election
(intr often foll by for) Australianinformalto be struggling or in difficulty, esp in earning a living
to treat (a subject) superficially
you scratch my back and I'll scratch yoursif you will help me, I will help you
noun
the act of scratching
a slight injury
a mark made by scratching
a slight grating sound
(in a handicap sport)
a competitor or the status of a competitor who has no allowance or receives a penalty
(as modifier)a scratch player
the time, initial score, etc, of such a competitor
the line from which competitors start in a race
(formerly) a line drawn on the floor of a prize ring at which the contestants stood to begin or continue fighting
a withdrawn competitor in a race, etc
billiardssnooker
a shot that results in a penalty, as when the cue ball enters the pocket
a lucky shot
poultry food
from scratchinformalfrom the very beginning
up to scratch(usually used with a negative)informalup to standard
adjective
sport(of a team) assembled hastily
(in a handicap sport) with no allowance or penalty