scuff
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scuff¹
- /skʌf/ US, UK
- /skɐf/ Australia, New Zealand
- /skʊf/ Northern England
Rhymes with -ʌf
Where it comes from
From Scots scuff (“to touch lightly, graze, hit”), of obscure origin. Perhaps from Old Norse skúfa (“to shove, push aside”), from Proto-Germanic *skeubaną (“to shove”). Or, perhaps imitative. More at shove.
verb scuffs · scuffing · scuffed
- To scrape the feet while walking.
- To scrape and roughen the surface of (shoes, etc.)
- To hit lightly, to brush against. The lawns and gardens had been scuffed away.
- To mishit (a shot on a ball) due to poor contact with the ball. The Montenegro captain was finding space at will and followed up with a speculative shot that he scuffed wide, after Wales were slow in closing down the Juventus striker.
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Synonym of scrub in (“To break in new racing tires by doing a few gentle laps on them, with the resulting heat serving to remove factory coatings and provide better grip.”)
Similar: scrub in
noun scuffs
- A mark left by scuffing or scraping. Someone left scuff marks in the sand.
- The sound of a scuff or scrape. All you could hear was the rhythmic scuff of Mr. Stink’s battered brogues as he walked slowly along the road
- A slipper.
- A (sudden) shower of rain or mist. It was a dark, gloomy day, with black clouds driven by the wind, and scuffs of grey showers scudding among the hilltops. Presently lying couched amid the heather we saw the dragoons come marching loosely two and two,[…]
scuff²
- /skʌf/ US, UK
- /skɐf/ Australia, New Zealand
- /skʊf/ Northern England
Rhymes with -ʌf
Where it comes from
See scuft
noun scuffs
- A scurf; a scale.
- The back part of the neck; the scruff. One of the biggest and most redoubted of the Black Family was now in that seat of dignity, and, refusing surlily to yield it at Jasper's rude summons, was seized by the scuff of the neck, and literally hurled on the table in front.
Translations
Every language
verb to scrape the feet while walking
| Español | arrastrar |
|---|---|
| Português | arrastar |
| Italiano | strusciare, sfregare |
| Русский | ша́ркать šárkatʹ, волочи́ть но́ги voločítʹ nógi |
noun scraping, usually with one's feet
| Italiano | sfregamento |
|---|
Talk about this word "scuff." Wiktionary, via Micwyn, micwyn.com/word/scuff. Accessed 6 Nov. 2026. scuff. (n.d.). In Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Retrieved November 6, 2026, from https://micwyn.com/word/scuff "scuff." Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Accessed November 6, 2026. https://micwyn.com/word/scuff.Cite this
@misc{scuff_2026,
title = {scuff},
howpublished = {Wiktionary, via Micwyn},
year = {2026},
url = {https://micwyn.com/word/scuff},
urldate = {2026-11-06}
}
