Related Searches
Nearby Words
Synonyms

scores

 [skawr, skohr]   Origin

score

   [skawr, skohr] noun, plural scores, score for 11, verb, scored, scor·ing.
noun
1.
the record of points or strokes made by the competitors in a game or match.
2.
the total points or strokes made by one side, individual, play, game, etc.
3.
an act or instance of making or earning a point or points.
4.
Education, Psychology. the performance of an individual or sometimes of a group on an examination or test, expressed by a number, letter, or other symbol.
5.
a notch, scratch, or incision; a stroke or line.
EXPAND
6.
a notch or mark for keeping an account or record.
7.
a reckoning or account so kept; tally.
8.
any account showing indebtedness.
9.
an amount recorded as due.
10.
a line drawn as a boundary, the starting point of a race, a goal line, etc.
11.
a group or set of 20: about a score of years ago.
12.
scores, a great many: Scores of people were at the dance.
13.
a reason, ground, or cause: to complain on the score of low pay.
14.
Informal.
a.
the basic facts, point of progress, etc., regarding a situation: What's the score on Saturday's picnic?
b.
a successful move, remark, etc.
15.
Music.
a.
a written or printed piece of music with all the vocal and instrumental parts arranged on staves, one under the other.
b.
the music itself.
c.
the music played as background to or part of a movie, play, or television presentation.
16.
Slang.
a.
a success in finding a willing sexual partner; sexual conquest.
b.
a purchase or acquisition of illicit drugs, as heroin or cocaine.
c.
a single payoff obtained through graft by a police officer, especially from a narcotics violator.
d.
a successful robbery; theft.
e.
any success, triumph, happy acquisition, gift, or win.
f.
the victim of a robbery or swindle.
COLLAPSE
verb (used with object)
17.
to gain for addition to one's score in a game or match.
18.
to make a score of: He scored 98 on the test.
19.
to have as a specified value in points: Four aces score 100.
20.
Education, Psychology. to evaluate the responses a person has made on (a test or an examination).
21.
Music.
a.
to orchestrate.
b.
to write out in score.
c.
to compose the music for (a movie, play, television show, etc.)
EXPAND
22.
Cookery. to cut ridges or lines into (meat, fish, etc.) with shallow slashes, usually in a diamond pattern, before cooking.
23.
to make notches, cuts, marks, or lines in or on.
24.
to record or keep a record of (points, items, etc.), by or as if by notches, marks, etc.; tally; reckon (often followed by up).
25.
to write down as a debt.
26.
to record as a debtor.
27.
to gain, achieve, or win: The play scored a great success.
28.
Slang.
a.
to obtain (a drug) illicitly.
b.
to steal.
c.
to acquire; be given.
29.
to berate or censure: The newspapers scored the mayor severely for the announcement.
30.
to crease (paper or cardboard) so that it can be folded easily and without damage.
COLLAPSE

:10

:09

:08

:07

:06

:05

:04

:03

:02

:01

Scores is always a great word to know.
So is ninnyhammer. Does it mean:
a fool or simpleton; ninny.
a gadget; dingus; thingumbob.
LEARN MORE UNUSUAL WORDS WITH WORD DYNAMO...
verb (used without object)
31.
to make a point or points in a game or contest.
32.
to keep score, as of a game.
33.
to achieve an advantage or a success: The new product scored with the public.
34.
to make notches, cuts, lines, etc.
35.
to run up a score or debt.
EXPAND
36.
Slang.
a.
to succeed in finding a willing sexual partner; have coitus.
b.
to purchase or obtain drugs illicitly.
c.
to elicit and accept a bribe.
COLLAPSE
Idiom
37.
pay off/settle a score, to avenge a wrong; retaliate: In the Old West they paid off a score with bullets.
Origin:
before 1100; (noun) Middle English; late Old English scora, score (plural; singular *scoru) group of twenty (apparently orig. notch) < Old Norse skor notch; (v.) Middle English scoren to incise, mark with lines, tally debts < Old Norse skora to notch, count by tallies; later v. senses derivative of the noun; akin to shear

Related forms
score·less, adjective
scor·er, noun
non·scor·ing, adjective
out·score, verb (used with object), -scored, -scor·ing.
re·score, verb, -scored, -scor·ing.
EXPAND
un·scored, adjective
un·scor·ing, adjective
well-scored, adjective
COLLAPSE
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2012.
Cite This Source Link To scores
Etymonline
Word Origin & History

score
late O.E. scoru "twenty," from O.N. skor "mark, tally," also, in Icelandic, "twenty," from P.Gmc. *skura-, from PIE base *(s)ker- "to cut" (cf. O.E. sceran; see shear). The connecting notion is perhaps counting large numbers (of sheep, etc.) with a notch in a stick for each
EXPAND
20. This counting notion is the origin of the modern sense in sports (1742, originally in whist). In O.Fr., "twenty" (vint) or a multiple of it could be used as a base, e.g. vint et doze ("32"), dous vinz et diz ("50"). Meaning "printed piece of music" first recorded 1701, from the practice of connecting related staves by scores of lines. The verb meaning "to cut with incisions or notches" is attested from c.1400; the slang sense "achieve intercourse" first recorded 1960.
COLLAPSE
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper
Cite This Source
American Heritage
Medical Dictionary

score (skôr)
n.
A result of a test or examination, usually expressed numerically.

The American Heritage® Stedman's Medical Dictionary
Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Cite This Source
Slang Dictionary

score definition


  1. in.
    to succeed. : I knew if I kept trying I could score.
  2. tv. & in.
    to obtain something; to obtain drugs or sex. (Very close to sense 1.) : Fred is always trying to score with women.
  3. n.
    the result of a scoring: drugs, loot, winnings, etc. : The crooks dropped the score as they made their getaway.
  4. in.
    [for a male] to copulate with a female; [for a female] to copulate with a male. (Usually objectionable.) : Fred can't think about anything but scoring with Martha.
  5. n.
    the client of a male or female prostitute. : She conked the score over the head and robbed him.
  6. n.
    a summary; a conclusion; the sum total. (See also bottom line.) : Okay, waiter, what's the score?
Dictionary of American Slang and Colloquial Expressions by Richard A. Spears.Fourth Edition.
Copyright 2007. Published by McGraw Hill.
Cite This Source
Partners:WordBloglinesCitysearchThe Daily BeastAsk AnswersAsk KidsLife123SendoriThesaurus
Dictionary.com, LLC. Copyright © 2012. All rights reserved.
About Privacy Policy Terms of Use API Careers Advertise with Us Contact Us Help
  • Please Login or Sign Up to use the Recent Searches feature
FAVORITES
RECENT
How many words do you know? FIND OUT