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scarecrow

[ skair-kroh ]
/ ˈskɛərˌkroʊ /
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noun
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.
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Origin of scarecrow

First recorded in 1545–55; scare + crow1

OTHER WORDS FROM scarecrow

scarecrowish, scarecrowy, adjective
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

How to use scarecrow in a sentence

British Dictionary definitions for scarecrow

scarecrow
/ (ˈskɛəˌkrəʊ) /

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
  1. an untidy-looking person
  2. a very thin person
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012
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