Word.ws English Dictionary

scratch an itch

scratch an itch verb: to satisfy a need or desire.

Verb

scratch an itch (third-person singular simple present scratches an itch, present participle scratching an itch, simple past and past participle scratched an itch)

  1. (idiomatic) To satisfy a need or desire.
    • Near-synonyms: hit the spot, hit the button
  2. Used other than figuratively or idiomatically: see scratch, itch.

Synonyms of scratch an itch

Forms of scratch an itch

third-person singular presentscratches an itch
present participlescratching an itch
past participlescratched an itch
pastscratched an itch

Questions about scratch an itch

What does scratch an itch mean?
Scratch an itch means to satisfy a need or desire.
What part of speech is scratch an itch?
Scratch an itch is a verb.
What is the past tense of scratch an itch?
The past tense of scratch an itch is scratched an itch.

Words near scratch an itch in the dictionary

  1. Scratby
  2. scratch
  3. scratch a liberal and a fascist bleeds
  4. scratch a liberal and you'll find a fascist
  5. scratch a living
  6. scratch an itch
  7. scratch and sniff
  8. scratch below the surface
  9. scratch beneath the surface
  10. scratch brush
  11. scratch brushes

Source and license

Adapted from Wiktionary: scratch an itch (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:

Pronunciation audio from Wikimedia Commons, each file under its own free license: En-au-scratch an itch.ogg.

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