scratches

American

[skrach-iz] / ˈskrætʃ ɪz /

noun

(used with a singular verb)

a disease of horses marked by dry rifts or chaps that appear on the skin near the fetlock, behind the knee, or in front of the hock.

scratches British

/ ˈskrætʃɪz /

noun

Also called: cracked heels, mud fever. (functioning as singular) a disease of horses characterized by dermatitis in the region of the fetlock

"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

Etymology

Origin of scratches

First recorded in 1605–15; see origin at scratch, -s ³

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.

See Examples For:

scratches

Somehow the burst only caused minor scratches on his floor, he said, but his entire neighborhood was littered with blown trash cans and stray tree limbs, not to mention the severe damage to the course.

From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 22, 2026

Duration measures how far a fund drops when rates rise, and a long-term Treasury fund can post deep losses on a move that barely scratches a short-term bond fund.

From MarketWatch ● Jul. 28, 2026

This car was brought in following a relatively minor accident, and Harrowell points to a few scratches and scrapes on the protective casing of the battery underneath the car.

From BBC ● Jul. 8, 2026

Tiny impurities in the water or even microscopic scratches inside a container can provide those starting points.

From Science Daily ● Jul. 8, 2026

The genetic code had to be written into the material of DNA—just as intimately as scratches are etched into pith.

From "The Gene" by Siddhartha Mukherjee

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Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023