scarecrow
Americannoun
-
scarecrows
plural
-
an object, usually a figure of a person in old clothes, set up to frighten crows or other birds away from crops.
-
anything frightening but not really dangerous.
-
a person in ragged clothes.
-
an extremely thin person.
noun
-
an object, usually in the shape of a man, made out of sticks and old clothes to scare birds away from crops
-
a person or thing that appears frightening but is not actually harmful
-
informal
-
an untidy-looking person
-
a very thin person
-
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.
See Examples For:
Susie Parr said looking at her husband's photos of the village's flower show, VE Day events, annual scarecrow festival and Women's Institute meetings had been a "bittersweet experience".
From BBC ● Jun. 28, 2026
Mr. Plemons, who has slimmed down to scarecrow dimensions to suit a character who has renounced all worldly pleasures, is one of those rare actors who never seem to be acting.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 23, 2025
Suddenly, it’s no longer a silhouette in the haze but a scarecrow, shrouded in hay, lurching toward me.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 5, 2025
The researchers focused on two key regulators of cell division in Arabidopsis -- proteins called short-root and scarecrow that, together, prompt dividing root cells to make the switch.
From Science Daily ● Feb. 9, 2024
“So you’re here,” the scarecrow says, as if he knows me and has been waiting for me to arrive.
From "Challenger Deep" by Neal Shusterman
One way to prevent the accidental death of albatrosses at sea is the use of bird scaring lines: they're essentially nautical scarecrows, scaring the birds away from the nets and fishing lines.
From BBC ● Dec. 30, 2025
On the sides of roads in the oil sands, air cannons boom periodically to keep birds away from the vast toxic ponds and scarecrows dressed as oil workers float above them.
From Washington Times ● Nov. 9, 2023
Leisurely cooking a Julia-inspired feast, soundtracked by my favorite Spotify playlists while leaves fall outside and scarecrows, gourds and Halloween decorations begin to decorate the streets — it doesn't get much better than that.
From Salon ● Sep. 3, 2023
Everywhere I turned, I saw decorations for Halloween, Thanksgiving and Christmas all merged into a torture chamber bedecked with lighted trees, inflatable grinches, pumpkins, scarecrows and turkey fryers.
From Washington Post ● Nov. 22, 2022
His every spare minute was spent with Beto and Cari assembling the scarecrows.
From "Out of Darkness" by Ashley Hope 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.
