Word.ws English Dictionary

How to use scratch in a sentence

40 example sentences · verb, noun, adjective

Scratch means to rub a surface with a sharp object, especially by a living creature to remove itching with nails, claws, etc. Example: “Could you please scratch my back?”

Examples of scratch by meaning

verbTo rub a surface with a sharp object, especially by a living creature to remove itching with nails, claws, etc.

  • Could you please scratch my back?

verbTo rub the skin with rough material causing a sensation of irritation; to cause itching.

  • I don't like that new scarf because it scratches my neck.

verbTo mark a surface with a sharp object, thereby leaving a scratch (noun).

  • A real diamond can easily scratch a pane of glass.

verbTo get such scratches.

  • This platter scratches easily.

verbHence, to remove, ignore, or delete.

  • Scratch what I said earlier; I was wrong.
  • When the favorite was scratched from the race, there was a riot at the betting windows.

verbTo commit a foul in pool, as where the cue ball is put into a pocket or jumps off the table.

  • Embarrassingly, he scratched on the break, popping the cue completely off the table.

verbTo dig or excavate with the claws.

  • Some animals scratch holes, in which they burrow.

verbTo dig or scrape (a person's skin) with claws or fingernails in self-defense or with the intention to injure.

  • The cat scratched the little girl.

More sentences with scratch

  • This is a new scratch on my car! The band just released a new album.From the entry new
  • He had the choice of buying a scratching post or a cat tree.From the entry tree
  • I'd better file the bottoms of the table legs. Otherwise they will scratch the flooring.From the entry file
  • There were so many errors in the program that the programmer decided to rewrite it from scratch.From the entry from scratch
  • He had no money and no rich friends, so he had to build his business from scratch.From the entry from scratch
  • The cat only sat on the mat. It didn't scratch it.From the entry only
  • He had scratched his cornea so badly that his doctor told him to wear a patch.From the entry patch
  • Wow, you really made this pie from scratch? I'm not mad at it.From the entry mad
  • My car's got a big scratch down one side — I'll have to get it resprayed.From the entry respray
  • You're not bleeding out; the knife barely scratched your skin. Stop being so dramatic!From the entry dramatic
  • Pull up to that curb slowly; you don't want to scratch that other car.From the entry pull up
  • I'm not exactly in love with the idea of having to start again from scratch.From the entry in love
  • He pushed his straw hat back, scratched his head, and laughed ruefully.From the entry ruefully
  • The dog was constantly scratching his many verminous sores and welts.From the entry verminous
  • I used a nonabrasive cleanser to clean the porcelain fixtures because I didn't want to scratch them.From the entry nonabrasive
  • I'll have eggs and sausage. No, scratch that. I'll have eggs and bacon.From the entry scratch that
  • We had a considerable tight scratch with about an equal number of the British.From the entry tight scratch
  • A nice shot of whiskey would really scratch the itch right about now.From the entry scratch the itch
  • My cat keeps scratching at the furniture.From the entry at
  • Staining wood will make minor scratches show on the surface.From the entry show
  • This DVD is scratched and won't play.From the entry play
  • After scratching out and replacing various words in the manuscript, he scribed a fair copy to send to the publisher.From the entry fair
  • Polish the silver with a soft cloth to avoid scratching.From the entry soft
  • This beginners' course only scratches the surface of the subject.From the entry scratch the surface
  • They decided that his performance was not up to scratch.From the entry up to scratch
  • A combing tool is used to scarify, cross-scratch, or score the surface of a scratch coat or undercoat of plaster.From the entry scarify
  • My hand puffed up where the cat had scratched me.From the entry puff up
  • To scratch a cat between the ears.From the entry between the ears
  • I tried climbing the tree nudy rudy but i got all scratched up in places I can't show you.From the entry nudy rudy
  • The cat scratched her, drawing blood.From the entry draw
  • Spray some ointment on that scratch.From the entry spray

Meaning of scratch

  1. verb To rub a surface with a sharp object, especially by a living creature to remove itching with nails, claws, etc.
  2. verb To rub the skin with rough material causing a sensation of irritation; to cause itching.
  3. verb To irritate someone's skin with one's unshaven beard when kissing.

Full definition of scratch

Questions about scratch in a sentence

How do you use scratch in a sentence?
Scratch is used as a verb, noun and adjective. For example: “Could you please scratch my back?”
What is a short sentence with scratch?
“This platter scratches easily.”
What does scratch mean?
Scratch means to rub a surface with a sharp object, especially by a living creature to remove itching with nails, claws, etc.

Source and license

Adapted from Wiktionary: scratch (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 scratch in a sentence.” Word.ws, https://word.ws/sentences/scratch. Based on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.