scratch out
Definition
Verb: 1. To strike or cancel by or as if by rubbing or crossing out: To remove something, typically written text, by scratching over it or drawing a line through it, rendering it illegible or invalid.
Usage
The verb "scratch out" is used to describe the physical or figurative act of deleting or removing written words by making marks over them. It implies a deliberate action to eliminate something from a list, text, or record.
Examples
Advanced Usage
- Figurative Use: It can be used metaphorically to mean eliminating or removing something from consideration or existence.
- The new evidence could scratch out the previous theory entirely.
Variants and Related Words
- Scratch (verb): To mark or cut a surface with something sharp or pointed. While "scratch" can mean to make a mark, "scratch out" specifically means to remove by making such marks.
- Cross out (phrasal verb): A very close synonym, meaning to draw a line through something to delete it.
- Strike out (phrasal verb): Another close synonym, often used in legal or formal contexts to mean deleting text.
- Delete (verb): A more general term for removing written or typed text.
Synonyms
- Cross out
- Strike out
- Delete
- Erase
- Cancel
Related Phrasal Verbs
- Scratch off: To remove something from a surface by scratching. This often refers to removing a top layer, like the coating on a lottery ticket.
- She scratched off the silver coating to reveal the prize.
Related Idioms
- Start from scratch: To begin from the very beginning, with no prior work or advantage. (Note: This idiom uses "scratch" but not the phrasal verb "scratch out," and has a different meaning.)
- After the fire, they had to start from scratch to rebuild their business.
Verb
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strike or cancel by or as if by rubbing or crossing out
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scratch out my name on that list
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