scruff
1 Americannoun
noun
noun
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informal an untidy scruffy person
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informal a disreputable person, ruffian
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another name for scum
noun
Etymology
Origin of scruff1
1780–90; variant of dial. scuff, scuft < Dutch schoft horse's withers
Origin of scruff2
Metathetic variant of scurf
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 latest polls show Hilton is leading along with the clean-shaven Democrat Xavier Becerra, suggesting voters in November will have a choice between scruff and no scruff.
From The Wall Street Journal ● May 27, 2026
Jacks took the game by the scruff of the neck after England stuttered to 105-5 in the 13th over.
From Barron's ● Feb. 16, 2026
Moriarty figures heavily in the opening episodes of “Sherlock & Daughter” too, although Dougray Scott lends a malevolent scruff to him that Park’s interpretation tidies up.
From Salon ● Apr. 16, 2025
He really grabbed the entire Pakistan team by the scruff of the neck.
From BBC ● Oct. 26, 2024
Sharp, short blasts of fetid breath pushed through a metal cylinder through the scruff of a combed-down moustache.
From "The Marrow Thieves" by Cherie Dimaline
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.
