scuffed

American  

[skuhft] / skʌft /

adjective

1. marred or scratched by scraping or hard use.

   He had on a worn-out old coat, workman's pants, and scuffed boots.

   Close to the trunk of the car he found scuffed tracks that looked to have been made by small, thin-soled shoes.

   I looked under the bed and pulled out a scuffed suitcase with frayed cardboard corners.

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verb

1. the simple past tense and past participle of scuff.

Other Word Forms

• unscuffed adjective

Etymology

Origin of scuffed

scuff ( def. ) + -ed ² ( def. )

Example Sentences

Kiel had a late chance to level things up when Aldin Jakupovic broke free with just Stuttgart goalkeeper Alex Nuebel to beat, but scuffed his shot wide.

From Barron's • Feb. 4, 2026

The MetroCard, a scuffed yellow rectangle that lived in wallets, coat pockets and the bottoms of tote bags for more than three decades, is officially reaching the end of the line.

From Salon • Dec. 28, 2025

His second-half spot kick was the ideal chance to end that but the scuffed strike lacked confidence and allowed Skorupski to save with his legs.

From BBC • Sep. 25, 2025

Soft-spoken, with jittery knees and scuffed Converse sneakers, Calderon could easily be the face of the lawsuit moving through federal court.

From Los Angeles Times • Aug. 19, 2024

But when their gazes landed on one of my scuffed brown boots peeking out from beneath the hem, the fussing over us stopped, and Aunt Kitty felt the need to fill the awkward silence.

From "The Detective's Assistant" by Kate Hannigan