scarecrow
Americannoun
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scarecrows
plural
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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.
See Examples For:
In the field behind them, a scarecrow in the form of an archer, along with rags fluttering from lines of string, are meant to keep birds from scavenging the newly planted seeds.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 29, 2026
It’s also about curses and a giant house that moves around on chicken legs and a turnip-headed scarecrow and pollution and . . . see what I mean?
From Salon ● Aug. 4, 2026
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
Earlier in the telecast, Roan took the stage along with her entourage of western clowns and scarecrow dancers for a performance of “Pink Pony Club,” her anthem celebrating queer nightlife in West Hollywood.
From Los Angeles Times ● Feb. 2, 2025
Tree- ear could read their thoughts—This scrawny scarecrow of a child claims a royal appointment?
From "A Single Shard" by Linda Sue Park
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
Squash is an inherently seasonal crop that automatically conjures harvest-esque imagery complete with gourds, scarecrows, Halloween decor and maybe even a fun Jack-o-Lantern.
From Salon ● Sep. 16, 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
Every year, the town of Benicia, California encourages local businesses to make creative scarecrows for Halloween.
From NewsForKids.net ● Oct. 21, 2022
Its arms are stretched wide, its eyes are tilted toward the cloud-spotted sky in eternal supplication—and it occurs to me that all scarecrows look as if they’ve been crucified.
From "Challenger Deep" by Neal Shusterman
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.
