from scratch

phrase

1

: from a point at which nothing has been done ahead of time

build a school system from scratch

2

: without using a prepared mixture of ingredients

bake a cake from scratch

Examples of from scratch in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

This means their meaning is easier to guess for someone without any previous knowledge of the gesture or language being spoken; perfect for creating a new language from scratch. — Hannah Little, Scientific American, 20 Sep. 2026

From bottom to top, every layer of this apple pie is made from scratch. — Jenna Sims, Southern Living, 20 Sep. 2026

Reboots gonna reboot, although simply restarting things from scratch and/or throwing canon out the window is no guarantee of an upgrade. — David Fear, Rolling Stone, 18 Sep. 2026

The broader takeaway for leaders is that continuous governance doesn’t mean rebuilding the GRC process from scratch. — Ramachander Rao Thallada, Forbes.com, 18 Sep. 2026

Word History

First Known Use

1928, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Rhymes for from scratch

• attach
• bycatch
• despatch
• detach
• dispatch
• mismatch
• nuthatch
• potlatch
• bache
• batch
• brach
• catch