Word.ws English Dictionary

How to use scarecrow in a sentence

18 example sentences · noun, verb

Scarecrow means an effigy, typically made of straw and dressed in old clothes, fixed to a pole in a field to deter birds from eating crops or seeds planted there. Example: “Priapus was frequently represented sculpturally, as a kind of scarecrow among the fields and even as a protection over graveyards.”

Examples of scarecrow by meaning

nounAn effigy, typically made of straw and dressed in old clothes, fixed to a pole in a field to deter birds from eating...

  • Priapus was frequently represented sculpturally, as a kind of scarecrow among the fields and even as a protection over graveyards.1961, Harry E. Wedeck, Dictionary of Aphrodisiacs, New York: The Citadel Press, page 198

nounAnything that appears terrifying but presents no danger; a paper tiger.

  • The Canada West Foundation dismisses these concerns as "political scarecrows"; fearsome at first glance but irrelevant on closer examination.1983, Saskatchewan Law Review, volume 48, Saskatoon, Sask.: College of Law, University of Saskatchewan, →OCLC, page 114

verbTo cause (a person, their body, etc.) to look awkward and stiff, like a scarecrow (noun sense 1).

  • It felt as though the house could keep disgorging debris forever, a tidal wave of unmatched slippers and dresses scarecrowed on hangers, and after sifting through it all we would still know nothing.1993, Jeffrey Eugenides, chapter 5, in The Virgin Suicides, New York, N.Y.: Picador, →ISBN, page 224
  • Because it was the end of the dry season, the trees were Seussian, their branches scarecrowing over lawns of brown grass.2007, Dave Bidini, “Freetown”, in Around the World in 57½ Gigs, Toronto, Ont.: McClelland & Stewart, →ISBN, page 266
  • In the mirror on the opposite wall he can see gray half-moons hanging under his eyes, his hair scarecrowing in tufts and waves.2013, Patrick Flanery, “Part I: Shelter”, in Fallen Land, 1st American edition, New York, N.Y.: Riverhead Books, →ISBN, pages 244–245

verbTo splay (one's arms) away from the body, like the arms of a scarecrow.

  • An arctic wind whooshes down Columbus Avenue like the IRT express, catching her bags, scarecrowing her arms, and threatening to take her broad-brimmed hat downtown.2010 May 3, Robert N. Chan, “If Pigs Flu”, in The Bad Samaritan, Bloomington, Ind.: iUniverse, →ISBN
  • He scarecrowed his arms.2013, Tom Benn, “Best Served Cold”, in Chamber Music, London: Jonathan Cape, →ISBN, page 231

verbTo frighten or terrify (someone or something), as if using a scarecrow.

  • she leapt at their battering wings and i swung the broom. around and around i whirled, scarecrowing the demon birds, scrubbing my grandmother's words off the walls.2016, Glenda Millard, “forgotten thing”, in The Stars at Oktober Bend, 1st UK edition, [Fittleworth, West Sussex]: Old Barn Books, →ISBN...
  • The herder, a seventeen-year-old boy named Hassan, the youngest son of a friend, scarecrowed madly in his blue robes to force the animals off the asphalt just in time for a silver SUV to whiz by toward Bamako.2022, Anna Badkhen, “Once I Took a Weeklong Walk in the Sahara”, in Bright Unbearable Reality: Essays, New York, N.Y.: The New York Review...

More sentences with scarecrow

  • Spiritually, he was as effective as a scarecrow in a black coat.1930, Norman Lindsay, Redheap, Sydney, N.S.W.: Ure Smith, →OCLC, page 128. From the entry spiritually
  • Network Rail and Avanti West Coast have installed a solar-powered 'electronic scarecrow' to deter birds from entering Longsight depot in Manchester.2020 September 23, “Network News: Longsight depot uses 'scarecrow'”, in Rail, page 26. From the entry solar-powered
  • One of my more creative friends built a scaredeer — a scary version of a scarecrow with a real deer skull.2017 August 14, Kevin Ambrose, “Want to keep the deer out of your garden? Here’s what works.”, in The Washington Times, archived from the…. From the entry scaredeer
  • All the while, a bogeyman served him well—not a return to communism, Yeltsin’s scarecrow, but the chaos of Yeltsinism.2015, Stephen Kotkin, Foreign Affairs, CFR, The Resistible Rise of Vladimir Putin. From the entry Yeltsinism
  • I love it when people try to impress with vitriol by setting up a scarecrow and then knocking it over.2001, R-Lex, “Apoptygma DVD”, in rec.music.industrial (Usenet). From the entry Apop
  • For mercy's sake, just look at that scarecrow there.1916, Harrison Goodel, “At the Reception”, in Goodwal Dickerman, Henry Marlin Soper, editors, Scrap-book Recitation Series: A…. From the entry don't look now
  • The old driver was hanging over the splash-board like some grotesque scarecrow, his arms dangling absurdly in front of him.1913, Arthur Conan Doyle, “(please specify the page)”, in The Poison Belt […], London; New York, N.Y.: Hodder and Stoughton, →OCLC. From the entry splashboard
  • 'How is it?' a scarecrow asks.2016, Andy Futuro, Josephine Wins Again: A Novel, June Day Press, →ISBN, page 84. From the entry unicorn puke
  • McCormack rounded a bush and Chisholm reared up out of nowhere, a grinning scarecrow, his arm wrapped matily round the boy's shoulders, a pistol jammed against the boy's temple.2022, Liam McIlvanney, The Heretic, page 449. From the entry matily

Meaning of scarecrow

  1. noun An effigy, typically made of straw and dressed in old clothes, fixed to a pole in a field to deter birds from eating crops or seeds planted there.
  2. noun A person or animal regarded as resembling a scarecrow (sense 1) in some way; especially, a tall, thin, awkward person; or a person wearing ragged and tattered clothes.
  3. noun Synonym of crow scarer (“a farmhand employed to scare birds from the fields”).

Full definition of scarecrow

Questions about scarecrow in a sentence

How do you use scarecrow in a sentence?
Scarecrow is used as a noun and verb. For example: “Priapus was frequently represented sculpturally, as a kind of scarecrow among the fields and even as a protection over graveyards.”
What is a short sentence with scarecrow?
“He scarecrowed his arms.”
What does scarecrow mean?
Scarecrow means an effigy, typically made of straw and dressed in old clothes, fixed to a pole in a field to deter birds from eating crops or seeds planted there.

Source and license

Adapted from Wiktionary: scarecrow (page history and authors) and the entries each sentence comes from. Text available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 license. Word.ws chose the sentences, left out offensive ones and quotations older than 1900, and marked the word in each. Wiktionary data of 2026-09-02.

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Cite this page: “How to use scarecrow in a sentence.” Word.ws, https://word.ws/sentences/scarecrow. Based on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.