Scratch

v. t.

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.

[imp. & p. p. Scratched ; p. pr. & vb. n. Scratching.]

Small sand-colored stones, so hard as to scratch glass.

- Grew.

Be mindful, when invention fails,
To scratch your head, and bite your nails.

- Swift.

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.

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.

v. i.

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.

(Billiards) To score, not by skillful play but by some fortunate chance of the game.

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.

(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.

(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.

A kind of wig covering only a portion of the head.

(Billiards) A shot which scores by chance and not as intended by the player; a fluke.

In various sports, the line from which the start is made, except in the case of contestants receiving a distance handicap.

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.

start from scratch
to start (again) from the very beginning; also, to start without resources. - Thackeray.

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.

Scratch race
one without restrictions regarding the entrance of competitors; also, one for which the competitors are chosen by lot.

Noun	1.	scratch - an abraded area where the skin is torn or worn off Synonyms: abrasion, excoriation, scrape
	2.	scratch - a depression scratched or carved into a surface Synonyms: incision, prick, dent, slit
	3.	scratch - informal terms for money Synonyms: boodle, clams, dinero, gelt, kale, lettuce, lolly, lucre, moolah, pelf, shekels, simoleons, wampum, loot, dough, bread, cabbage, sugar
	4.	scratch - dry mash for poultry Synonyms: chicken feed
	5.	scratch - a harsh noise made by scraping; "the scrape of violin bows distracted her" Synonyms: scrape, scratching, scraping
	6.	scratch - poor handwriting Synonyms: cacography, scrawl, scribble
	7.	scratch - an indication of damage Synonyms: scar, scrape, mark
Verb	1.	scratch - cause friction; "my sweater scratches" Synonyms: fray, rub, chafe, fret
	2.	scratch - cut the surface of; wear away the surface of Synonyms: scratch up, scrape
	3.	scratch - scrape or rub as if to relieve itching; "Don't scratch your insect bites!" Synonyms: itch, rub

1.		scratch - (From "scratchpad") Describes a data structure or recording medium attached to a machine for testing or temporary-use purposes; one that can be scribble d on without loss. Usually in the combining forms "scratch memory", "scratch register", "scratch disk", "scratch tape", "scratch volume". See also scratch monkey.
2.		scratch - (primarily IBM) To delete (as in a file).

To dream that you are scratching yourself, symbolizes a minor irritation or frustration. Perhaps something that began as minor may have the potential to become worse. Or that somebody may have hit a sore spot in you. To see a scratch in your dream, suggests that you are feeling anxiety about having to start over or begin something "from scratch".ablation, abort, abrade, abrasion, abrasive, adequate, anamorphosis, attrition, autolithograph, bad likeness, barbouillage, bark, barley, be a printmaker, belch, bezel, bird seed, birthmark, blackhead, blare, blat, blaze, blaze a trail, bleb, blemish, blister, bloody, blot, blot out, blotch, bore, botch, bran, brand, bray, bread, break, bruise, buffing, bulla, burlesque, burn, burnishing, burr, burrow, buzz, cackle, canal, canalize, cancel, caricature, cartoon, carve, cash, caste mark, casual, cat food, caw, cease, chafe, chafing, chalk, chalk up, chamfer, channel, character, charcoal, chase, check, check off, checkmark, chicken feed, chink, chip, chips, chirr, chisel, chiseling, chop, cicatrix, cicatrize, clang, clangor, clank, clash, claw, close, coin, color, comedo, competent, competitive, conclude, concussion, copy, corn, corrugate, corrugation, crack, crackle, cranny, crater, craunch, crayon, craze, crease, cribble, croak, cross out, cross-hatching, crosshatch, crump, crunch, cursoriness, cut, dado, damage, dapple, dash, dash off, daub, defacement, defect, define, deformation, deformity, dele, delete, delimit, delineate, delve, demarcate, demitint, depict, design, determine, detrition, diagram, dig, dig out, dike, discolor, discoloration, disfiguration, disfigurement, distortion, ditch, do double duty, dog food, doodle, dot, dough, draft, draw, dredge, dressing, drill, drive, earmark, eatage, efface, eliminate, elucubrate, enchase, end, engrave, engravement, engraving, ensilage, epidermis, erase, erasure, erosion, etch, etching, excavate, exclude, expunge, extempore, exteriority, fault, feed, filing, finish, finish up, flash burn, flaw, fleck, flick, flute, fluting, fodder, forage, fracture, fray, frazzle, freckle, fret, fretting, furrow, gall, galling, gash, gem-engraving, glass-cutting, gloss, glyptic, goffer, good enough, gouge, gouge out, grain, grate, grave, graving, graze, grazing, greenbacks, grind, grinding, groan, groove, growl, grub, grumble, gully, hack, half tint, haphazard, hasty, hatch, hatching, hay, hemangioma, hen scratches, hen tracks, hickey, hit the ball, hurried, hurt, hustle, impress, imprint, impromptu, incise, incision, informal, injure, injury, inscribe, inscript, inscription, itch, jack, jangle, jar, jot, keloid, kink, lacerate, laceration, lentigo, lesion, limation, limn, line, lining, lithograph, lower, lucubrate, macula, maim, make a mark, make mincemeat of, make prints, makeshift, mar, mark, mark off, mark out, marking, mash, maul, mazuma, meal, mere scratch, microgroove, milium, mine, misdraw, mispaint, mole, mortal wound, mottle, mutilate, mutilation, needle scar, nevus, nick, no depth, no water, notch, oats, obliterate, off the cuff, overwork, paint, paint a picture, parody, pasturage, pasture, patch, pattes de mouche, pencil, pepper, perorate, pet food, picture, picturize, pierce, pimple, pinprick, pit, pleat, plow, pock, pockmark, point, polishing, polka dot, port-wine mark, port-wine stain, portray, pothookery, pothooks, pothooks and hangers, pour it on, prick, prickle, print, provender, punch, punctuate, puncture, pustule, quarry, rabbet, rasp, rasping, raze, rend, rent, resolve, riddle, rifle, rifling, rift, rind, rip, rough, rub, rub off, rub out, rubbing away, ruck, rule out, run, rupture, rut, sandblasting, sanding, sap, satisfactory, savage, scab, scald, scar, scarification, scarify, scoop, scoop out, scorch, score, scoring, scotch, scouring, scrabble, scranch, scrap, scraping, scratch feed, scratch out, scratching, scrawl, scribble, scribbling, scrub, scrubbing, scrunch, scuff, sculpture, scumble, seal, seam, sebaceous cyst, second-degree burn, shade, shallowness, shining, shoaliness, shovel, silage, sink, sketch, skin, slash, slashing, slave, slightness, slit, slops, smoothing, snarl, snore, sore, spade, speck, speckle, splash, split, splotch, sponge, sponge out, spot, sprain, stab, stab wound, stain, stamp, stencil, stick, stigma, stigmatize, sting, stipple, stippling, stop, strain, straw, strawberry mark, streak, stria, striate, striation, strike off, strike out, stripe, sty, sufficient, sulcation, sulcus, superficiality, superficies, surface, sweat, swill, tattoo, tattoo mark, tear, terminate, third-degree burn, thrill, tick, tick off, tingle, tint, tittle, tool, tooling, trace, track, trauma, traumatize, travesty, trench, triviality, trough, tunnel, twang, twist, type-cutting, underline, underscore, unplanned, unpremeditated, unprepared, up to scratch, up to snuff, veneer, verruca, vesicle, wale, wampum, warp, wart, watermark, weal, wear, wearing away, well-worn groove, welt, wen, wheat, whitehead, wind up, wipe out, work hard, work late, work overtime, wound, wounds immedicable, wrench, wrinkle

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