{
    "term": "scratch",
    "partOfSpeech": "verb",
    "ox5000": true,
    "cefr": "b2",
    "verbForms": {
        "presentSimple": {
            "iYouWeThey": "scratch",
            "heSheIt": "scratches"
        },
        "pastSimple": "scratched",
        "pastParticiple": "scratched",
        "ingForm": "scratching"
    },
    "definitions": [
        {
            "senseNumber": 1,
            "definition": "to rub your skin with your nails, usually because it is itching",
            "sensetop": "scratch somethingscratch (yourself)scratch at something",
            "cefr": "b2",
            "examples": [
                {
                    "text": "John yawned and scratched his chin.",
                    "contextForm": "scratch something"
                },
                {
                    "text": "The dog scratched itself behind the ear.",
                    "contextForm": "scratch (yourself)"
                },
                {
                    "text": "Try not to scratch."
                },
                {
                    "text": "She scratched at the insect bites on her arm.",
                    "contextForm": "scratch at something"
                },
                {
                    "text": "He absently scratched his head."
                },
                {
                    "text": "He kept scratching at his nose."
                },
                {
                    "text": "He scratched at his beard for a few seconds."
                }
            ],
            "collocations": {
                "adverb": ["badly", "absently", "lightly"],
                "preposition": ["at", "on", "with"]
            }
        },
        {
            "senseNumber": 2,
            "definition": "to cut or damage your skin slightly with something sharp",
            "sensetop": "scratch (somebody/something/yourself)scratch somebody/something/yourself on something",
            "cefr": "b2",
            "examples": [
                {
                    "text": "I'd scratched my leg and it was bleeding.",
                    "contextForm": "scratch (somebody/something/yourself)"
                },
                {
                    "text": "Does the cat scratch?"
                },
                {
                    "text": "She scratched herself on a nail.",
                    "contextForm": "scratch somebody/something/yourself on something"
                },
                {
                    "text": "I scratched my arm on a rose bush."
                },
                {
                    "text": "The cat scratched his leg with her claws."
                },
                {
                    "text": "She had obviously tried to scratch her attacker."
                }
            ],
            "topics": ["Health problems"],
            "collocations": {
                "adverb": ["badly", "absently", "lightly"],
                "preposition": ["at", "on", "with"]
            }
        },
        {
            "senseNumber": 3,
            "definition": "to damage the surface of something, especially by accident, by making thin shallow marks on it",
            "sensetop": "scratch something",
            "cefr": "b2",
            "examples": [
                {
                    "text": "Be careful not to scratch the furniture."
                },
                {
                    "text": "The car's paintwork is badly scratched."
                }
            ],
            "collocations": {
                "adverb": ["badly", "absently", "lightly"],
                "preposition": ["at", "on", "with"]
            }
        },
        {
            "senseNumber": 4,
            "definition": "to make or remove a mark, etc. on something deliberately, by rubbing it with something hard or sharp",
            "sensetop": "scratch something + adv./prep.",
            "labels": "(figurative)",
            "cefr": "c1",
            "examples": [
                {
                    "text": "They scratched lines in the dirt to mark out a pitch."
                },
                {
                    "text": "Some graffiti had been scratched on the back of the door."
                },
                {
                    "text": "We scratched some of the dirt away."
                },
                {
                    "text": "You can scratch my name off the list."
                }
            ]
        },
        {
            "senseNumber": 5,
            "definition": "to make an annoying noise by rubbing something with something sharp",
            "sensetop": "(+ adv./prep.)",
            "cefr": "c1",
            "examples": [
                {
                    "text": "His pen scratched away on the paper."
                },
                {
                    "text": "We could hear mice scratching behind the wall."
                },
                {
                    "text": "The dog kept scratching at the door to go out."
                }
            ]
        },
        {
            "senseNumber": 6,
            "definition": "to make enough money to live on, but with difficulty",
            "sensetop": "scratch a living",
            "examples": [
                {
                    "text": "75% of the population scratch a living from the soil."
                }
            ]
        },
        {
            "senseNumber": 7,
            "definition": "to decide that something cannot happen or somebody/something cannot take part in something, before it starts",
            "sensetop": "scratch somebody/somethingscratch somebody/something from somethingscratch (from something)",
            "examples": [
                {
                    "text": "to scratch a rocket launch",
                    "contextForm": "scratch somebody/something"
                },
                {
                    "text": "The horse was scratched from the race because of injury.",
                    "contextForm": "scratch somebody/something from something"
                },
                {
                    "text": "She had scratched because of a knee injury.",
                    "contextForm": "scratch (from something)"
                }
            ]
        },
        {
            "senseNumber": null,
            "definition": "to think hard in order to find an answer to something",
            "examples": [
                {
                    "text": "Experts have been scratching their heads over the increase in teenage crime."
                }
            ]
        },
        {
            "senseNumber": null,
            "definition": "to deal with, understand, or find out about only a small part of a subject or problem",
            "examples": [
                {
                    "text": "We left feeling that we had just scratched the surface of this fascinating country."
                },
                {
                    "text": "The investigation barely scratched the surface of the city's drug problem."
                }
            ]
        },
        {
            "senseNumber": null,
            "definition": "used to say that if somebody helps you, you will help them, even if this is unfair to others",
            "labels": "(saying)",
            "examples": []
        }
    ],
    "pronunciations": {
        "uk": [
            {
                "pronunciation": "/skrætʃ/",
                "audio": "sc/scratch/scratch__gb_1.mp3"
            },
            {
                "pronunciation": "/ˈskrætʃɪz/",
                "audio": "sc/scratch/scratches__gb_1.mp3"
            },
            {
                "pronunciation": "/skrætʃt/",
                "audio": "sc/scratch/scratched__gb_1.mp3"
            },
            {
                "pronunciation": "/ˈskrætʃɪŋ/",
                "audio": "sc/scratch/scratching__gb_1.mp3"
            }
        ],
        "us": [
            {
                "pronunciation": "/skrætʃ/",
                "audio": "sc/scratch/scratch__us_1.mp3"
            },
            {
                "pronunciation": "/ˈskrætʃɪz/",
                "audio": "sc/scratch/scratches__us_1.mp3"
            },
            {
                "pronunciation": "/skrætʃt/",
                "audio": "sc/scratch/scratched__us_1.mp3"
            },
            {
                "pronunciation": "/ˈskrætʃɪŋ/",
                "audio": "sc/scratch/scratching__us_1.mp3"
            }
        ]
    },
    "wordOrigin": "late Middle English: probably a blend of the synonymous dialect words scrat and cratch, both of uncertain origin; compare with Middle Low German kratsen and Old High German krazzōn."
}