scooch

American  

[skooch] / skutʃ /

Or scootch

verb (used with or without object)

1. to slide or move a short distance (often used withover ).

   I'd climb onto the top bar of my swing set, scooch across to the middle, and hang upside down by my knees.

   To multiply a decimal by 100, all you do is scooch the decimal point over two spots to the right.

   Scooch over so I can sit beside you.

2. to crouch or squat.

   Bend or scooch down so the measuring cup is at eye level and you can clearly see the markings and the level of the liquid.

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noun

1. a small amount or distance.

   You need to tweak the speed of the video’s narration by slowing it down a scooch.

   This is just another scootch down the slippery slope you stepped on when you started buying lottery tickets.

Etymology

Origin of scooch

First recorded in 1855–60; perhaps a variant of scrooch ( def. ), by association with scoot ( def. )

Example Sentences

Her husband protested that he was fine, then began to scooch himself on his bottom into the bedroom.

From New York Times • Mar. 7, 2024

Using the slower sideways scooch technique may allow birds to better assess upcoming obstacles and voids, thereby reducing the likelihood of collisions.

From Science Daily • Nov. 9, 2023

With the Swoop, an able patient can scooch into the magnet as if wriggling under a car’s bumper.

From Science Magazine • Feb. 22, 2023

“I think it’s partly us kind of stepping off the gas a bit and kind of hoping we can scooch one out,” Carolina forward Jordan Staal said.

From Seattle Times • Nov. 19, 2022

I could jam the chair up against the one door’s knob, and I’d have to scooch the table with the mirror over up against the other one.

From "Bud, Not Buddy" by Christopher Paul Curtis

Related Words

• accelerate
• drift
• drive
• drop
• fall
• flow
• glide
• move
• sag
• shift
• shove
• skate
• skid
• slip
• slither
• slump
• tumble
• veer