scratched

8 definitions • 13 examples

past simple and past participle of

to cut or damage a surface or your skin slightly with or on something sharp or rough:

We scratched the wall trying to get the bed into Martha's room.

Be careful not to scratch yourself on the roses.

scratch about/around for A few chickens were scratching about/around (= searching with their beaks) in the yard for grain.

If you scratch something on or off a surface, you add it or remove it by scratching:

scratch something on something People have been scratching their names on this rock for years.

scratch something off something I scratched some paint off the door as I was getting out of the car.

If an animal scratches, it rubs something with its claws (= sharp nails):

scratch at The dog's scratching at the door – he wants to be let in.

to rub your skin with your nails:

scratch (at) He was scratching (at) his mosquito bites.

Hannah scratched her head thoughtfully.

to remove yourself or another person or an animal from a competition before the start:

scratch from The world champion scratched from the 800 metres after injuring herself the day before.

scratch someone/something from something They scratched the horse from the race because she had become lame.

to decide not to do something you had planned to do:

We had to scratch our plans when I lost my job.

used for saying you take back something you have just said, especially in order to say it in a better way or to say something different:

Everything I did was in the cause of safety. No, scratch that – not safety but survival.

It would have been better to say your brother wasn’t driving the car at all. Scratch that – telling the truth is usually best in the end.