scratches

[ skrach-iz ]

noun(used with a singular verb)Veterinary Pathology.
  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.

Origin of scratches

1
First recorded in 1605–15; see origin at scratch, -s3

Words Nearby scratches

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024

How to use scratches in a sentence

  • scratches and flaws in the glass of slide or cover are likewise a common source of confusion to beginners.

    A Manual of Clinical Diagnosis | James Campbell Todd
  • Beastly nuisance; we shall all have to clear out, for I suppose it won't be a mere matter of scratches.

  • A few scratches here and there marred the polish of the frame and one cushion had sustained an ugly rent.

    Dorothy at Skyrie | Evelyn Raymond
  • Dauntlessly, in spite of thorns and the numberless scratches they inflicted, Digby led the way.

    Digby Heathcote | W.H.G. Kingston
  • He looked down at his hand, where two long red scratches oozed a trickle of blood.

    The Medici Boots | Pearl Norton Swet

British Dictionary definitions for scratches

scratches

/ (ˈskrætʃɪz) /


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

Origin of scratches

1
C16: so called because it makes the pastern appear to be scratched

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