What's the difference between
and
Enter two words to compare and contrast their definitions, origins, and synonyms to better understand how those words are related.

Grab vs Scratch - What's the difference?

grab | scratch |

In lang=en terms the difference between grab and scratch

is that grab is a soundbite while scratch is to produce a distinctive sound on a turntable by moving a vinyl record back and forth while manipulating the crossfader (see also scratching).

As verbs the difference between grab and scratch

is that grab is to grip suddenly; to seize; to clutch while scratch is to rub a surface with a sharp object, especially by a living creature to remove itching with nails, claws, etc.

As nouns the difference between grab and scratch

is that grab is a sudden snatch (for something while scratch is a disruption, mark or shallow cut on a surface made by scratching.

As an adjective scratch is

for or consisting of preliminary or tentative, incomplete, etc. work.

grab

English

Etymology 1

From (etyl) .

Verb

(grabb)
  • To grip suddenly; to seize; to clutch.
  • * , chapter=7
  • , title= Mr. Pratt's Patients , passage=Old Applegate, in the stern, just set and looked at me, and Lord James, amidship, waved both arms and kept hollering for help. I took a couple of everlasting big strokes and managed to grab hold of the skiff's rail, close to the stern.}}
  • To make a sudden grasping or clutching motion (at something).
  • To restrain someone; to arrest.
  • To grip the attention; to enthrall.
  • (informal) To quickly collect or retrieve.
  • * 1987 James Grady Just a Shot Away , Bantam, p117
  • "I'll just grab my jacket," said Manh-Hung.
  • * 1999 Jillian Dagg, Racing Hearts, Thomas Bouregy & Co., p105
  • Hardly believing that Rafe actually planned to relax for a while, Kate nodded. "All right. Fine. I'll just go grab my purse."
  • * 2009 Mike Taylor, A Thousand Sleeps, Tate Publishing, p216
  • He looked at Albert and Ben, and then back to Nurse Allen. "I'll just grab my gear and be right back."
  • (informal) To consume something quickly.
  • To take the opportunity of.
  • * {{quote-news, year=2012, date=May 19, author=Paul Fletcher, work=BBC Sport
  • , title= Blackpool 1-2 West Ham , passage=Both teams wasted good opportunities to score but it was the London side who did grab what proved to be the decisive third when the unmarked Vaz Te, a January signing from Barnsley, drilled the ball into the net from 12 yards.}}

    Noun

    (en noun)
  • a sudden snatch (for something)
  • * 1931 Harold M. Sherman, "The Baseball Clown," Boys' Life, Vol. 21, No. 4 (April 1931), Boy Scouts of America, p47
  • The ball popped in and popped out, and when he made a grab for it on the ground he kicked it with his foot.
  • * 2003 J Davey, Six Years of Darkness, Trafford Publishing, p66
  • He made a grab for me and I swung my handbag at him as hard as I could.
  • a mechanical device that grabs or clutches
  • # a device for withdrawing drills, etc., from artesian and other wells that are drilled, bored, or driven
  • (media) a soundbite
  • Derived terms
    * attention-grabbing * ungrab * up for grabs
    Synonyms
    * catch * clutch * grasp * seize * snatch

    Etymology 2

    (etyl) and (etyl) ghurb? : crow, raven, a kind of Arab ship.

    Noun

    (en noun)
  • A two- or three-masted vessel used on the Malabar coast.
  • Anagrams

    * * ----

    scratch

    Verb

    (es)
  • To rub a surface with a sharp object, especially by a living creature to remove itching with nails, claws, etc.
  • Could you please scratch my back?
  • * Jonathan Swift
  • Be mindful, when invention fails, / To scratch your head, and bite your nails.
  • To rub the skin with rough material causing a sensation of irritation.
  • I don't like that new scarf because it scratches my neck.
  • To mark a surface with a sharp object, thereby leaving a scratch (noun).
  • A real diamond can easily scratch a pane of glass.
  • To remove, ignore or delete.
  • Scratch what I said earlier; I was wrong.
    When the favorite was scratched from the race, there was a riot at the betting windows.
  • (music) To produce a distinctive sound on a turntable by moving a vinyl record back and forth while manipulating the crossfader (see also ).
  • (billiards) To commit a foul in pool, as where the cue ball is put into a pocket or jumps off the table.
  • Embarrassingly, he scratched on the break, popping the cue completely off the table.
  • (billiards, dated, US) To score, not by skilful play but by some fortunate chance of the game.
  • To write or draw hastily or awkwardly.
  • * Jonathan Swift
  • Scratch out a pamphlet.
  • To dig or excavate with the claws.
  • Some animals scratch holes, in which they burrow.

    Derived terms

    * scratch one's head * scratch the surface * scratcher * scratchpad * scratchy * scratch an itch * Old Scratch

    Synonyms

    * scrattle

    Noun

    (es)
  • (lb) A disruption, mark or shallow cut on a surface made by scratching.
  • :
  • :
  • *(William Shakespeare) (1564-1616)
  • *:God forbid a shallow scratch should drive / The prince of Wales from such a field as this.
  • *(Joseph Moxon) (1627-1691)
  • *:The coarse filemakes deep scratches in the work.
  • *1709 , (Matthew Prior), '' Henry and Emma, line 503
  • *:These nails with scratches deform my breast.
  • *
  • *:Thus, when he drew up instructions in lawyer language, he expressed the important words by an initial, a medial, or a final consonant, and made scratches for all the words between; his clerks, however, understood him very well.
  • *{{quote-book, year=1963, author=(Margery Allingham)
  • , title=(The China Governess) , chapter=Foreword citation , passage=A very neat old woman, still in her good outdoor coat and best beehive hat, was sitting at a polished mahogany table on whose surface there were several scored scratches so deep that a triangular piece of the veneer had come cleanly away, […].}}
  • An act of scratching the skin to alleviate an itch or irritation.
  • :
  • (lb)
  • #A starting line (originally and simply, a line scratched in the ground), as in boxing.
  • #:(Grose)
  • #A technical error of touching or surpassing the starting mark prior to the official start signal in the sporting events of long jump, discus, hammer throw, shot put, and similar. Originally the starting mark was a scratch on the ground but is now a board or precisely indicated mark.
  • #(lb) An aberration.
  • ##A foul in pool, as where the cue ball is put into a pocket or jumps off the table.
  • ## A shot which scores by chance and not as intended by the player; a fluke.
  • (label) Money.
  • *2006 , (Clive James), North Face of Soho , Picador 2007, p. 153:
  • *:He and Bruce cooked up a script together, and Bruce flew home to raise the scratch .
  • A feed, usually a mixture of a few common grains, given to chickens.
  • (lb) Minute, but tender and troublesome, excoriations, covered with scabs, upon the heels of horses which have been used where it is very wet or muddy.
  • *1887 , James Law, The Farmer's Veterinary Adviser
  • *:These are exemplified in the scurfy, scaly affections which appear in the bend of the knee (mallenders) and hock (sallenders) and on the lower parts of the limbs, by scratches , and by a scaly exfoliation.
  • A kind of wig covering only a portion of the head.
  • Derived terms

    * from scratch * scratch-built * start from scratch * Old Scratch

    Adjective

    (-)
  • For or consisting of preliminary or tentative, incomplete, etc. work.
  • This is scratch paper, so go ahead and scribble whatever you want on it.
  • Hastily assembled; put together in a hurry or from disparate elements.
  • * 1988 , James McPherson, Battle Cry of Freedom , Oxford 2004, p. 740:
  • Bluecoats began crossing the James on June 14 and next day two corps approached Petersburg, which was held by Beauregard with a scratch force of 2,500.
  • (computing, from scratchpad) Relating to a data structure or recording medium attached to a machine for testing or temporary use.
  • Constructed from whatever materials are to hand.
  • (sports) (of a player) Of a standard high enough to play without a handicap, i.e. to compete without the benefit of a variation in scoring based on ability.
  • * {{quote-book
  • , year=1964 , author=Charles Price , title=The American golfer , page=48 , passage=... the shot that does most to make a genuine scratch golfer is the mashie shot up to the pin — not merely up to the green.}}
  • Made, done, or happening by chance; arranged with little or no preparation; determined by circumstances; haphazard.
  • a scratch''' team; a '''scratch''' crew for a boat race; a '''scratch shot in billiards
    a scratch race: one without restrictions regarding the entry of competitors

    Derived terms

    * scratch monkey * scratch sheet

    References

    * * The Jargon File - Scratch