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
- scarecrowish adjective
- scarecrowy adjective
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.
The scarecrow scenes are klutzy; the reveal of the Tin Man plays like a spoof of Jack Nicholson in “The Shining.”
From Los Angeles Times • Nov. 18, 2025
The case centers on a two-story yellow house in Norfolk, purchased for $137,000 in 2020, which on Thursday was decorated for fall with mums on the front porch and a scarecrow on the lawn.
From The Wall Street Journal • Oct. 24, 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
The many jokes in the well-thumbed paperback "No Pun Intended: Volume Too" include winners like: "Why did the scarecrow get a promotion? He was outstanding in his field."
From Salon • Feb. 19, 2023
It filled his clothes like straw in a scarecrow.
From "Tristan Strong Punches a Hole in the Sky" by Kwame Mbalia
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.
