scratch 1 S3 / skrætʃ / 动词
1 rub your skin [不及物和及物动词] to rub your skin with your nails because it feels uncomfortable → itch :
John yawned and scratched his leg.
Try not to scratch.
scratch at
He was scratching at the bites on his arm.
2 cut sb’s skin [不及物和及物动词] to cut someone’s skin slightly with your nails or with something sharp :
She ran at him and scratched his face.
Don’t scratch yourself on the thorns.
3 make a mark [及物动词] to make a small cut or mark on something by pulling something sharp across it :
I’m afraid I’ve scratched your car.
Some of the prisoners had scratched their names on the walls.
4 animals [ intransitive always + 副词 / 介词 ] if an animal scratches, it rubs its feet against something, often making a noise :
A few chickens scratched around in the yard.
scratch at
a dog scratching at the door to be let in
5 remove something [ transitive always + 副词 / 介词 ] to remove something from a surface by rubbing it with something sharp
scratch something off/away etc
I scratched away a little of the paint with my fingernail.
6 remove writing [ transitive always + 副词 / 介词 ] to remove a word from a piece of writing by drawing a line through it 同义词 cross out
scratch something from/off something
I have scratched his name from the list.
7 make a noise [ intransitive always + 副词 / 介词 ] to make a rough sound by moving something sharp across a surface :
His pen scratched away on the paper.
8 scratch the surface to deal with only a very small part of a subject or problem
scratch the surface of
I think we have only scratched the surface of this problem.
9 scratch your head informal to think carefully about a difficult question or problem :
This crisis has politicians scratching their heads and wondering what to do.
10 stop something happening [及物动词] informal if you scratch an idea or a plan, you decide that you will not do it 同义词 abandon
11 remove from race [不及物和及物动词] informal if someone scratches from a race, or if you scratch them from the race, they do not take part in it
12 you scratch my back, I’ll scratch yours spoken used to say that you will help someone if they agree to help you
→ scrape/scratch a living at living 2 ( 1 )
THESAURUS
touch to put your fingers or hand onto someone or something for a very short time : Don’t touch the iron – it’s hot!
feel to touch something with your fingers in order to find out about it : Feel how soft this material is. | I felt his forehead. It was cold.
handle to touch something and pick it up and hold it in your hands : Children should always wash their hands before handling food. | The glass was very fragile, and she handled it with great care. | Please do not handle the merchandise.
finger to touch or handle something with your fingers, especially while you are thinking of other things : She fingered the heavy necklace around her neck.
rub to move your hand over a surface while pressing it : Bob rubbed his eyes and yawned.
scratch to rub part of your body with your nails, often because it itches : The dog kept scratching its ear. | Bob scratched his head thoughtfully.
tickle to move your fingers lightly over someone’s body in order to make them laugh : The baby giggled as I tickled him.
grope to touch someone’s body in a sexual way when they do not want to be touched : The officer was accused of groping several women in his platoon.
scratch around ( also scratch about British English ) 短语动词
to try to find or get something which is difficult to find or get
scratch around for
homeless people scratching around for a place to shelter
scratch something ↔ out 短语动词
to remove a word from a piece of writing by drawing a line through it 同义词 cross out :
Emma’s name had been scratched out.