Showing results for "scratches"

• plural of scratch.
• present tense form of scratch (3rd person singular).

scratches

American  

[skrach-iz] / ˈskrætʃ ɪz /

noun

(used with a singular verb)

1. 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.

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scratches British  

/ ˈskrætʃɪz /

noun

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

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Etymology

Origin of scratches

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

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Example Sentences

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

"It scratches an itch for me as an artist to do something different and not meet the status quo."

From BBC ● Oct. 9, 2026

It’s not just the lack of discovery, though that is critical, maybe because it scratches those deep primal hunter/gatherer itches.

From Salon ● Oct. 4, 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

He grasps the oud’s neck and scratches it with his fingernails before he lets me have it again.

From "Across So Many Seas" by Ruth Behar

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