scratch

Concise Oxford English Dictionary © 2008 Oxford University Press:
scratch/skratʃ/

▶verb

• 1 score or mark with a sharp or pointed object.

  ■ make a long, narrow superficial wound in the skin of.

  ■ rub (a part of one's body) with one's fingernails to relieve itching.

  ■ (of a bird or mammal) rake the ground with the beak or claws in search of food.

  ■ (often scratch around/along) make a living or find resources with difficulty.

• 2 cancel or strike out (writing) with a pen or pencil.

  ■ withdraw from a competition.

  ■ cancel or abandon (an undertaking or project).

• 3 play a record using the scratch technique.

▶noun

• 1 a mark or wound made by scratching.

  ■ informal a slight or insignificant wound or injury.

  ■ an act or period of scratching.

• 2 the starting point in a race for a competitor that is not given a handicap or an advantage.

  ■ Golf a handicap of zero, indicating that a player is good enough to achieve par on a course.

• 3 a technique, used especially in rap music, of stopping a record by hand and moving it back and forwards to give a rhythmic scratching effect.

• 4 informal money.

▶adjective

• 1 assembled or made from whatever is available.

• 2 (of a sports competitor or event) with no handicap given.

– phrases
from scratch from the very beginning, especially without making use of any previous work.
scratch one's head informal think hard in order to find a solution.
scratch the surface deal with or investigate a matter only in the most superficial way.
up to scratch up to the required standard; satisfactory.

– derivatives
scratcher noun,
scratching noun.

– origin ME: prob. a blend of the synonymous dial. words scrat and cratch, both of uncertain origin.