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Scrub vs Scratch - What's the difference?

scrub | scratch |

Scratch is a synonym of scrub.



In lang=en terms the difference between scrub and scratch

is that scrub is to move a recording tape back and forth with a scrubbing-like motion to produce a scratching sound, or to do so by a similar use of a control on an editing system 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 adjectives the difference between scrub and scratch

is that scrub is mean; dirty; contemptible; scrubby while scratch is for or consisting of preliminary or tentative, incomplete, etc. work.

As nouns the difference between scrub and scratch

is that scrub is one who labors hard and lives meanly; a mean fellow while scratch is a disruption, mark or shallow cut on a surface made by scratching.

As verbs the difference between scrub and scratch

is that scrub is to rub hard; to wash with rubbing; usually, to rub with a wet brush, or with something coarse or rough, for the purpose of cleaning or brightening; as, to scrub a floor, a doorplate while scratch is to rub a surface with a sharp object, especially by a living creature to remove itching with nails, claws, etc.

scrub

English

Etymology 1

(en)

Adjective

(en adjective)
  • Mean; dirty; contemptible; scrubby.
  • * (rfdate)'' (Walpole)
    • How solitary, how scrub, does this town look!
  • * (rfdate), (Jonathan Swift)
    • No little scrub joint shall come on my board.

    Noun

    (en noun)
  • One who labors hard and lives meanly; a mean fellow.
  • * John Bunyan, A Pilgrim's Promise
    • a sorry scrub
  • * Oliver Goldsmith, The Vicar of Wakefield
    • We should go there in as proper a manner possible; nor altogether like the scrubs about us.
  • A worn-out brush.
    • (Ainsworth)
  • One who is incompetent or unable to complete easy tasks.
  • A thicket or jungle, often specified by the name of the prevailing plant; as, oak scrub', palmetto ' scrub , etc.
  • * , chapter=1
    • , title= Mr. Pratt's Patients, chapter=1 , passage=I stumbled along through the young pines and huckleberry bushes. Pretty soon I struck into a sort of path that, I cal'lated, might lead to the road I was hunting for. It twisted and turned, and, the first thing I knew, made a sudden bend around a bunch of bayberry scrub and opened out into a big clear space like a lawn.}}
  • (US, stock breeding) One of the common livestock of a region of no particular breed or not of pure breed, especially when inferior in size, etc. Often used to refer to male animals unsuited for breeding.
  • Vegetation of inferior quality, though sometimes thick and impenetrable, growing in poor soil or in sand; also, brush.
  • One not on the first team of players, a substitute.
    • Derived terms
    * scrubbable * scrub game * scrub race
    Derived terms
    * scrub bird * scrub oak * scrub robin

    Etymology 2

    From (etyl)

    Verb

    (scrubb)
  • To rub hard; to wash with rubbing; usually, to rub with a wet brush, or with something coarse or rough, for the purpose of cleaning or brightening; as, to scrub a floor, a doorplate.
  • To rub anything hard, especially with a wet brush; to scour;
  • (figuratively) To be diligent and penurious; as, to scrub hard for a living.
  • To call off a scheduled event; to cancel.
    • Engineers had to scrub the satellite launch due to bad weather.
  • (databases) To eliminate or to correct data from a set of records to bring it inline with other similar datasets
    • The street segment data from the National Post Office will need to be scrubbed before it can be integrated into our system.
  • (audio) To move a recording tape back and forth with a scrubbing-like motion to produce a scratching sound, or to do so by a similar use of a control on an editing system.
  • (audio, video) To maneuver the play position on a media editing system by using a scroll bar.

    • Noun

    (en noun)
  • An instance of scrubbing.
  • A cancellation.
  • A worn-out brush.
  • One who scrubs.
  • (medicine, in the plural) Clothing worn while performing surgery.
  • An exfoliant for the body.

    • Anagrams

    *

    scratch

    English

    (wikipedia 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