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Verb: scratch  skrach
  1. Cause friction
    "my sweater scratches";
    - rub, fray, fret, chafe
  2. Cut the surface of; wear away the surface of
    - scrape, scratch up
  3. Scrape with the fingers as if to relieve itching
    "Don't scratch your insect bites!";
    - rub, itch
  4. Postpone indefinitely or annul something that was scheduled
    "scratch that meeting--the chair is ill";
    - cancel, call off, scrub
    "scratch that remark";
    - strike, expunge, excise
  6. Gather (money or other resources) together over time
    "they scratched a meagre living";
    - scrape, scrape up, come up
    - engrave, grave [archaic], inscribe
Noun: scratch  skrach
  1. An abraded area where the skin is torn or worn off
    - abrasion, scrape, excoriation
  2. A depression scratched or carved into a surface
    - incision, prick, slit, dent
  3. Informal term for money
    - boodle, bread, cabbage [US], clams [US], dinero [N. Amer], dough, gelt, kale [US], lettuce [US], lolly [Brit], lucre, loot, moolah [N. Amer], pelf [archaic], shekels, simoleons [US], sugar, wampum [N. Amer], brass [Brit], moola [N. Amer], wonga [Brit], dosh [Brit], mazuma [US]
  4. A competitor who has withdrawn from competition
  5. A line indicating the location of the start of a race or a game
    - start, starting line, scratch line
  6. Dry mash for poultry
    - chicken feed
  7. A harsh noise made by scraping
    - scrape, scraping, scratching
  8. Poor handwriting
    - scribble, scrawl, cacography
  9. (golf) a handicap of zero strokes
  10. An indication of damage
    - scrape, scar, mark
Adjective: scratch  skrach
  1. Put together quickly from whatever is available
  2. (computing) for testing or temporary use
    "store the values in a scratch file"

Derived forms: scratches, scratched, scratching

See also: scratch out

Type of: accumulate, adjoin, amass, blemish, cancel, carve, challenger, chip at, collect, competition, competitor, compile, contact, contender, defect, delete, depression, hand, handicap, handwriting, hoard, impression, imprint, incise, irritate, lesion, line, mar, mash, meet, money, noise, pile up, rival, roll up, script, touch, wound

Encyclopedia: Scratch