scorch

American  

[skawrch] / skɔrtʃ /

verb (used with object)

1. to affect the color, taste, etc., of by burning slightly.

   The collar of the shirt was yellow where the iron had scorched it.

   Synonyms:

   blister, char

2. to parch or shrivel with heat.

   The sun scorched the grass.

3. to criticize severely.

   Synonyms:

   condemn, excoriate

   Antonyms:

   laud

4. Machinery. burn.

5. to destroy (crops, towns, etc.) by or as if by fire in the path of an invading army's advance.

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verb (used without object)

1. to become scorched.

   Milk scorches easily.

2. Informal. to travel or drive at high speed.

   The car scorched along the highway.

noun

1. a superficial burn.

scorch British  

/ skɔːtʃ /

verb

1. to burn or become burnt, so as to affect the colour, taste, etc, or to cause or feel pain

2. to wither or parch or cause to wither from exposure to heat

3. informal (intr) to be very hot

   it is scorching outside

4. informal (tr) to criticize harshly

5. slang (intr) to drive or ride very fast

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noun

1. a slight burn

2. a mark caused by the application of too great heat

3. horticulture a mark or series of marks on fruit, vegetables, etc, caused by pests or insecticides

Related Words

See burn ¹.

Other Word Forms

• scorching adjective
• unscorched adjective
• well-scorched adjective

Etymology

Origin of scorch

1400–50; late Middle English scorchen, perhaps blend of scorcnen (< Scandinavian; compare Old Norse skorpna to shrivel) and torch ¹

Example Sentences

The only mark of its presence was a small brown spot where its breath had scorched the pillowcase.

From Literature

That explosion of tomato and garlic, the ooze of cheese, it erased the smell of bleach that had scorched his nostrils; it filled up the hollow emptiness that yawned in his belly.

From Literature

He was the main winner at last year's ceremony, too, winning both record and song of the year for his scorching diss track, Not Like Us.

From BBC

Molecules move between scorching temperatures deep inside the planet and cooler regions above, shifting between different states and rearranging themselves through thousands of reactions.

From Science Daily

It was a fireball, an explosion of blue-red, and the heat of it singed the tips of his hair and scorched his eyes, so that both he and Mal had to cover their faces.

From Literature

Related Words

• bake
• blacken
• char
• melt
• parch
• sear