To mark or wound slightly on the surface by the scraping or tearing action of something rough, sharp, or pointed.To rub or scrape, as with the finger-nails or with a scratcher, but without wounding or marking, as for the purpose of relieving itching or irritation.To write or draw hurriedly or awkwardly; scribble.To dig, scrape, or excavate with the claws: as, some animals scratch holes in which they burrow.To erase or blot out; obliterate; expunge.SpecificallyIn horse-racing, to erase, as the name of a horse, from the list of starters.In United States politics, to erase (the name of a candidate on a printed ballot) by drawing a line through it; hence, to reject (a candidate).Synonyms Chafe, Abrade, etc. See scrape.To use the nails, claws, or the like for tearing the surface, or for digging, as a hen.To relieve cutaneous irritation by the scraping action of the nails or claws or of a scratcher.In United States politics, to expunge or delete a name on a voting-paper or ballot; reject one or more candidates on a regular party ticket, by canceling their names before casting the ballot.In billiards, to make a scratch or fluke.n. A break in the surface of a thing made by scratching, or by rubbing with anything pointed; a slight furrow; a score: as, a scratch on wood or glass.n. A slight wound; a laceration; a slight incision: as, he escaped with a mere scratch on the face.n. plural A disease in horses, consisting of dry chaps, rifts, or scabs between the heel and the pastern-joint.n. In various contests:n. The line from which the contestants start.n. A line drawn across a prize-ring, to which boxers are brought in order to join fight. See to come up to the scratch, under come.n. The starting-point or time of starting of a player or contestant who has to make the full score or who is allowed no odds in a handicap game or contest; also, a player or competitor holding such a position.n. In billiards, a stroke which is successful, but not in the way intended; a fluke.n. A kind of wig covering only a part of the head; a scratch-wig.n. A calcareous, earthy, or stony substance which separates from sea-water in boiling it for salt.n. A scrawl.Taken at random or haphazard, or without regard to qualifications; taken indiscriminately; heterogeneous: as, a scratch crew.Without handicap or allowance of time or distance: noting a race or contest in which all competitors start from the same mark or on even terms, or a competitor who receives no handicap allowance.n. A devil: only in the phrase Old Scratch, the devil.To treat with a scratch-brush, as in finishing metal.n. In billiards: In handicaps, the zero starting-mark.n. A ‘fluke,’ in any game.n. In pool, the mark by which forfeitures are designated and tallied.In sports and games, so good as to be obliged to start at scratch (or give handicaps to opponents) literally or figuratively; very skilful.Having been scratched off a list of entries, etc.: implying nothing dishonorable: as, a scratch colt, one which had been entered for the two year olds; a scratch nominee.