scratching

English

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈskɹæt͡ʃɪŋ/
• Rhymes: -ætʃɪŋ

Verb

scratching

1. present participle and gerund of scratch

Noun

scratching (countable and uncountable, plural scratchings)

1. The act or sound of something being scratched.

   We heard further scratchings at the door as the dog whined to be let in.

   • 1898, H.G. Wells, The War of the Worlds, London: William Heinemann, page 236:

     It was early on the fifteenth day that I heard a curious familiar sequence of sounds in the kitchen, and, listening, identified it as the snuffing and scratching of a dog.

2. A pork scratching.
   • 2010, Monique Roffey, Sun Dog:

     'Ugggghhhhh!' she made a face at the packet. 'Oink, oink!' Cosmo laughed, waving a scratching near her face.

3. Record scratching, a technique of starting and stopping a vinyl record from playing to produce music in hip hop.

Derived terms

• scratching post