scratch

Noun

• an indication of damage

• (golf) a handicap of zero strokes
  • a golfer who plays at scratch should be able to achieve par on a course
    

• poor handwriting

• a harsh noise made by scraping
  • the scrape of violin bows distracted her
    

• dry mash for poultry

• a line indicating the location of the start of a race or a game

• a competitor who has withdrawn from competition

• informal terms for money

• a depression scratched or carved into a surface

• an abraded area where the skin is torn or worn off

Verb

• carve, cut, or etch into a material or surface
  • engrave a pen
    
  • engraved the trophy cupt with the winner's
    
  • the lovers scratched their names into the bark of the tree
    

• gather (money or other resources) together over time
  • She had scraped together enough money for college
    
  • they scratched a meager living
    

• remove by erasing or crossing out or as if by drawing a line
  • Please strike this remark from the record
    
  • scratch that remark
    

• 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
    

• scrape or rub as if to relieve itching
  • Don't scratch your insect bites!
    

• cut the surface of; wear away the surface of

• cause friction
  • my sweater scratches
    

Related words

• Synonyms: 
  scrape , scar , mark , scribble , scrawl , cacography , scraping , scratching , chicken feed , start , starting line , scratch line , boodle , bread , cabbage , clams , dinero , dough , gelt , kale , lettuce , lolly , lucre , loot , moolah , incision , prick , slit , dent , abrasion , excoriation , engrave , grave , ins