scald

/skɔːld/US/skɔld/

scald verb: to burn with hot liquid. Also the alternative form of skald.

Verb

scald (third-person singular simple present scalds, present participle scalding, simple past and past participle scalded)

To burn with hot liquid.
- to scald the hand
- Mine own tears / Do scald like molten lead.c. 1603–1606, William Shakespeare, “The Tragedie of King Lear”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount...
To heat almost to boiling.
- Scald the milk until little bubbles form.

Noun (1)

scald (plural scalds)

A burn, or injury to the skin or flesh, by hot liquid or steam.
A paste, made by mixing flour with hot or boiling water (causing starches in it to gelatinize and hold more water) and allowing that mixture to sit and cool, which is added to bread dough to produce a softer bread that takes longer to stale.
- […] stir in the flour by hand, and afterwards add the boiling water, and stir vigorously as already described for Virgin barm. The scald should not be so stiff as for Virgin, and should taste sweet when newly made.1911, William Jago, William C. Jago, The Technology of Bread-making: Including the Chemistry and Analytical and Practical Testing of Wheat, Flour, and Other Materials Employed in Bread-making and...
- THE NIGHT BEFORE: MIX THE LEAVEN AND PREPARE THE SCALD. [...] mix the rye starter with the whole rye flour and room temperature water. Cover with a lid and let rest overnight, or 8 to 10 hours. Make the scald[:] In a 1-pint deli container (or similar container), combine the dark rye flour and...2022 August 30, Tara Jensen, Flour Power: The Practice and Pursuit of Baking Sourdough Bread, Clarkson Potter, →ISBN, page 214
(Appalachia) Poor or bad land.

Noun (2)

scald (uncountable)

(obsolete) Scaliness; a scabby skin disease.
- Her craftie head was altogether bald, / And as in hate of honorable eld, / Was ouergrowne with scurfe and filthy scald[…].1590, Edmund Spenser, “Book II, Canto VII”, in The Faerie Queene. […], London: […] [John Wolfe] for William Ponsonbie, →OCLC
- Some heale Horses, some cure men, some the plague, some the scald [translating teigne], some the cough, some one kinde of scab, and some another[…].1603, Michel de Montaigne, chapter 12, in John Florio, transl., The Essayes […], book II, London: […] Val[entine] Simmes for Edward Blount […], →OCLC

Adjective

scald (comparative more scald, superlative most scald)

(obsolete) Affected with the scab; scabby.
- and let us knog our / prains together to be revenge on this same scald, scurvy, / cogging companion,1599, William Shakespeare, The Merry Wives of Windsor, act III, scene i, line 110
Synonyms:

scalled, roynish
(obsolete) Paltry; worthless.
- Would it not grieue a King to be so abuſ’d?
  And haue a thouſand horſmen tane away?
  And which is worſe to haue his Diadem
  Sought for by ſuch ſcalde knaues as loue him not?c. 1587–1588 (date written), [Christopher Marlowe], Tamburlaine the Great. […] The First Part […], 2nd edition, part 1, London: […] [R. Robinson for] Richard Iones, […], published 1592, →OCLC...
- Saucy lictors / Will catch at us like strumpets, and scald rhymers / Ballad us out o' tune.1598, William Shakespeare, The Tragedy of Antony and Cleopatra, act V, scene ii, line 215
Synonyms:

contemptible

Also used as

scald is also the alternative form of skald.

scald meaning in Tagalog and Thai

scald in Tagalog

to burn with hot fluid: banlian, mabanlian, makabanli

Examples of scald in a sentence

Here the blue flames of scalding brimstone fall.1656, Abraham Cowley, Davideis:
The fireman was scalded by steam, but he did not fare so badly as the enemy pilot, whose dead body was found on a bank about 100 yd. away from the train.1943 March and April, “Notes and News: Southern Locomotive Destroys Raider”, in Railway Magazine, page 119:
THE NIGHT BEFORE: MIX THE LEAVEN AND PREPARE THE SCALD. [...] mix the rye starter with the whole rye flour and room temperature water.2022 August 30, Tara Jensen, Flour Power: The Practice and Pursuit of Baking Sourdough Bread, Clarkson Potter, →ISBN, page 214:

All 12 example sentences with scald

Synonyms of scald

All synonyms of scald

Forms of scald

Verb
third-person singular present	scalds
present participle	scalding
past participle	scalded
past	scalded
Noun
plural	scalds
Adjective
comparative	more scald
superlative	most scald

Past tense of scald: scalded

Origin of scald

From Middle English scalden, assumed to stem from Old Northern French escalder (compare central Old French eschauder, eschalder), from Late Latin excaldāre (“bathe in hot water”), from ex- (“off, out”) + cal(i)dus (“hot”). Cognate with Old Swedish skalda, skolda, skolla, skala, Swedish skålla, Danish skolde, Norwegian skålda, skaalda, Icelandic skálda. Also compare Old Norse skálda (“to rot, fall off, of hair”), to skalli (“baldness”), borrowed as Middle English scalle (“hair loss infection, rash, blistering”), English scall.

Alteration of scall or scalled. Compare cognate Old Swedish skold, skoldh, skol, Swedish skål, skoll, skolla, Danish skold, skolde, Norwegian skåld (“rash”).

Words formed from scald

Words that rhyme with scald

Questions about scald

What does scald mean?: Scald means to burn with hot liquid.
What is scald in Tagalog?: Scald in Tagalog is banlian, mabanlian, makabanli. See Scald meaning in Tagalog.
How do you use scald in a sentence?: Here the blue flames of scalding brimstone fall.
What part of speech is scald?: Scald can be a verb, a noun or an adjective.
How do you pronounce scald?: Scald is pronounced /skɔld/ (US).
What is the past tense of scald?: The past tense of scald is scalded.

Words near scald in the dictionary

Adapted from Wiktionary: scald (page history and authors). Text available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 license. Word.ws reformatted the entry and added links. Wiktionary data of 2026-09-02.

Last updated: 2026-09-02

Pronunciation audio from Wikimedia Commons, each file under its own free license: LL-Q1860 (eng)-Vealhurl-scald.wav.

Cite this entry: “scald.” Word.ws, https://word.ws/scald. Based on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.