word-vault
Version:
A lightweight JavaScript package for English word definitions and collections.
238 lines (237 loc) • 8.71 kB
JSON
{
"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."
}