Definitions
from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.
- noun The back of the neck; the nape.
from The Century Dictionary.
- noun Same as
shruff . - In golf, to raze the grass slightly in striking.
- noun The nape of the neck; the nape; technically, the nucha or cervix.
- noun Same as
scurf .
from the GNU version of the Collaborative International Dictionary of English.
- noun The nape of the neck; the loose outside skin, as of the back of the neck.
- noun obsolete Scurf.
from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.
- noun Someone with an
untidy appearance - noun obsolete
crust - noun The loose skin at the back of the neck of some animals.
- noun rare The back of the neck,
nape ; also scruff of the neck. - verb To lift or carry by the scruff.
from WordNet 3.0 Copyright 2006 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.
- noun the back side of the neck
Etymologies
from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 4th Edition
Support
Help support Wordnik (and make this page ad-free) by adopting the word scruff.
Examples
-
 At times her shading makes it look like Mercer has a bit of chin scruff in one panel, and then looks clean shaven in the other.
Review: You Have Killed Me | Major Spoilers - Comic Book Reviews and News 2009
-
And then sticking a card between my stock and my coat-collar, in what is called the scruff of my neck, the disgusting brute gave me another blow behind my back, and left the coffee-room with his friends.
The Fatal Boots 2006
-
I wanted very much to remove him from that car by what Lute would call the scruff of the neck.
The Rise of Roscoe Paine Joseph Crosby Lincoln 1907
-
-- And then sticking a card between my stock and my coat-collar, in what is called the scruff of my neck, the disgusting brute gave me another blow behind my back, and left the coffee-room with his friends.
The Fatal Boots William Makepeace Thackeray 1837
-
The cub became calmer when he was held by the scruff, which is the way mom Bai Yun carries him.
Fore, right! 2009
-
Her grin clearly frightened the leopard, as well as a pinch she gave him in the 'scruff' of the neck with one of her hands, while with the other she caught hold of his tail and made him yell.
-
RSPCA spokeswoman Kylie Hughes said while its not necessarily cruel to "scruff" a cat, ideally Kardashian should have been supporting its bodyweight two-handed.
-
Etheridge allegedly grabbed the man by the wrist and by the "scruff" of the neck, pulling him into "an awkward clinch."
-
-- he had enough "scruff" in the last episode of Season 3 to do any bad boy proud!!!!
-
Ilan ordered the dogs away from his father, who he grabbed by the scruff of the neck.
Slice Of Cherry Dia Reeves 2011
Comments
Log in or sign up to get involved in the conversation. It's quick and easy.