scuff

[ skuhf ]

/ skʌf /

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR scuff ON THESAURUS.COM

verb (used with object)

to scrape (something) with one's foot or feet.

to rub or scrape (one's foot or feet) over something.

to mar by scraping or hard use, as shoes or furniture.

Chiefly Scot.

to brush against, as in passing.
to brush off; wipe off.

verb (used without object)

to walk without raising the feet from the ground; shuffle.

to scrape or rub one's foot back and forth over something.

to be or become marred or scratched by scraping or wear.

(of machine parts, as gear teeth) to creep from pressure and friction so that ridges appear transversely to the direction of wear.

noun

the act or sound of scuffing.

a flat-heeled slipper with a full-length sole and an upper part covering only the front of the foot.

a marred or scratched place on an item, as from scraping or wear.

Nearby words

scuba diving, scuba-dive, scud, scudo, scudéry, scuff, scuffle, scuffling, sculch, sculduddery, sculduggery

Origin of scuff

First recorded in 1585–95, scuff is from the Middle Low German word schūven to shove

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Examples from the Web for scuff

You need some scuff marks from the great merry-go-round we call life.
Ariana Grande, This Is How to Be a Diva|Tim Teeman|October 21, 2014|DAILY BEAST
Scuff it up, patinate it, so that it feels more physically, viscerally real, and a little less perfect.
'Harry Potter' for Grown-Ups|Jane Ciabattari|August 10, 2011|DAILY BEAST
Such a blow is usually sufficient to crack or chip the shell, or at least to scuff away parts of the epidermal covering.
Natural History of the Ornate Box Turtle, Terrapene ornata ornata Agassiz|John M. Legler
There was a pause during which she continued to scuff the curbstone with her shoe, Jane likewise scuffing the fence-picket.
Seventeen|Booth Tarkington

And you could scuff when you walked and pile up fallen leaves from the grass and roll in them.
This Crowded Earth|Robert Bloch
They passed from Chet's view as they rounded the rear of the pyramid, and then he heard the scuff and clatter of their ascent.
Brood of the Dark Moon|Charles Willard Diffin
"You could scuff it and I could wear myself out cleanin', I suppose," retorted Jane.
The Poor Little Rich Girl|Eleanor Gates

British Dictionary definitions for scuff

scuff

/ (skʌf) /

verb

to scrape or drag (the feet) while walking

to rub or scratch (a surface) or (of a surface) to become rubbed or scratched

(tr) US to poke at (something) with the foot

noun

the act or sound of scuffing

a rubbed place caused by scuffing

a backless slipper

Word Origin for scuff

C19: probably of imitative origin

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Word Origin and History for scuff

scuff

1768, "to walk (through or over something) without raising the feet," from Scottish, probably from a Scandinavian source related to Old Norse skufa, skyfa "to shove, push aside," from PIE *skeubh- "to shove" (see shove (v.)). Meaning "injure the surface of" is from 1897. Related: Scuffed; scuffing. As a noun from 1824.

scuff

verb (used with object)

verb (used without object)

noun

RELATED WORDS

Nearby words

Origin of scuff

Examples from the Web for scuff

British Dictionary definitions for scuff

scuff

verb

noun

Word Origin for scuff

Word Origin and History for scuff

scuff