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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
    
5. Remove by erasing or crossing out or as if by drawing a line
   "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
    
7. Carve, cut, or etch into a material or surface
   "the lovers scratched their names into the bark of the tree";
   - engrave, grave [archaic], inscribe

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] The most common medium of exchange; functions as legal tender
   - money, coin [US, informal], boodle [informal], bread [informal], cabbage [US, informal], clams [US, informal], dinero [N. Amer, informal], dough [informal], gelt [informal], kale [US, informal], lettuce [US, informal], lolly [Brit, informal], lucre [informal], loot [informal], moolah [N. Amer, informal], pelf [archaic, informal], shekels [informal], simoleons [US, informal], sugar [informal], wampum [N. Amer, informal], moola [N. Amer, informal], wonga [Brit, informal], dibs [archaic, informal], brass [Brit, informal], mazuma [US, informal], dosh [Brit, informal]
    
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 A competitor who has withdrawn from competition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
   "a golfer who plays at scratch should be able to achieve par on a course"
    
10. An indication of damage
    - scrape, scar, mark

1. Put together quickly from whatever is available
    
2. (computing) for testing or temporary use
   "store the values in a scratch file"

Derived forms: scratched, scratches, scratching

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, medium of exchange, meet, monetary system, noise, pile up, rival, roll up, script, touch, wound

Part of: money supply

Encyclopedia: Scratch, Nicholas