scarecrow
Americannoun
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an object, usually a figure of a person in old clothes, set up to frighten crows or other birds away from crops.
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anything frightening but not really dangerous.
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a person in ragged clothes.
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an extremely thin person.
noun
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an object, usually in the shape of a man, made out of sticks and old clothes to scare birds away from crops
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a person or thing that appears frightening but is not actually harmful
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informal
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an untidy-looking person
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a very thin person
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Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Etymology
Origin of scarecrow
Explanation
Farmers use scarecrows, or human-shaped decoys, to frighten off birds that might eat their seeds or crops. If your sunflowers are being ravaged by starlings, try dressing a scarecrow in your old clothes! Scarecrow dates from the 1550s — earlier it was known as a shoy-hoy, which imitates the cry of a crow. The original scarecrows were actual people who were hired to stand in the middle of a field scaring crows and other birds away. Mannequins dressed in hats and other clothing mainly filled this role starting in the 16th century, and the word soon came to be used as a pejorative description for a "gaunt, ridiculous person" as well.
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
His three friends all went as other versions of Jackson, paying homage to his music videos or his turn as the Scarecrow in “The Wiz” movie.
From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 30, 2026
There, Dorothy met characters like the Scarecrow, the Cowardly Lion and the Tin Man who joined her on her quest to see the Wizard of Oz so she could return home.
From BBC • Nov. 19, 2024
The 1978 Motown film adaptation, directed by Sidney Lumet and starring Diana Ross as Dorothy and Michael Jackson as the Scarecrow, was a critical and box-office flop.
From New York Times • Feb. 24, 2024
Last year, for instance, saw a haunted house called Scarecrow that dipped into themes of climate change.
From Los Angeles Times • Jun. 15, 2023
Ellie was the brainy Scarecrow, Benny was the courageous Lion, and Joe was the Tin Man, all heart.
From "The First Rule of Punk" by Celia C. Pérez
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
