scratch

Meanings

• an abraded area where the skin is torn or worn off
• a depression scratched or carved into a surface
• informal terms for money
• a competitor who has withdrawn from competition
• a line indicating the location of the start of a race or a game
• dry mash for poultry
• a harsh noise made by scraping
• poor handwriting
• (golf) a handicap of zero strokes
  • "a golfer who plays at scratch should be able to achieve par on a course"
• an indication of damage
• cause friction
  • "my sweater scratches"
• cut the surface of; wear away the surface of
• scrape or rub as if to relieve itching
  • "Don't scratch your insect bites!"
• postpone indefinitely or annul something that was scheduled
  • "scratch that meeting--the chair is ill"
• remove by erasing or crossing out or as if by drawing a line
  • "scratch that remark"
• gather (money or other resources) together over time
  • "they scratched a meager living"
• carve, cut, or etch into a material or surface
  • "the lovers scratched their names into the bark of the tree"

Synonyms

abrasion, boodle, bread, cabbage, cacography, call off, cancel, chafe, chicken feed, clams, come up, dent, dinero, dough, engrave, excise, excoriation, expunge, fray, fret, gelt, grave, incision, inscribe, itch, kale, lettuce, lolly, loot, lucre, mark, moolah, pelf, prick, rub, scar, scrape, scrape up, scraping, scratch line, scratch up, scratching, scrawl, scribble, scrub, shekels, simoleons, slit, start, starting line, strike, sugar, wampum