scald

1 of 5

verb

ˈskȯld 

scalded; scalding; scalds

transitive verb

1

: to burn with or as if with hot liquid or steam

2

a

: to subject to the action of boiling water or steam

b

: to bring to a temperature just below the boiling point

scald milk

3

: scorch

intransitive verb

1

: to scald something

2

: to become scalded

scald

2 of 5

noun (1)

1

: an injury to the body caused by scalding

2

: an act or process of scalding

3

: any of various conditions or diseases of plants or fruits marked especially by a usually brownish discoloration of tissue

scald

3 of 5

adjective (1)

1

archaic : scabby, scurfy

2

archaic : shabby, contemptible

scald

4 of 5

noun (2)

variant spelling of skald

: an ancient Scandinavian poet

broadly : bard

scald

5 of 5

adjective (2)

ˈskȯld 

: subjected to scalding

coffee … with scald cream

—Charles Kingsley

Examples of scald in a Sentence

Verb

The steam scalded his skin.

Scald the tomatoes in boiling water so that you can peel them more easily.

Recent Examples on the Web

Verb

Their metal sheds grow scalding hot by day and frigid by night. —Michael E. Miller, Washington Post, 20 Oct. 2023

Along with scalding and whipping Riley, Mohammad is also accused of burning him with a hot pan and striking the boy in the face. —Brie Stimson, Fox News, 4 Aug. 2023

Sy Baumgartner, a 70-year-old professor of philosophy at Princeton, scalds his hand at the stove. —Malcolm Forbes, Los Angeles Times, 1 Nov. 2023

Plus, the geysers, steam vents, and hot springs this park is known for are especially impressive when the scalding geothermal waters meet the frigid air. —Sarah L. Stewart, Travel + Leisure, 19 Oct. 2023

The phrase likened people to various metals tossed into a scalding vat, boiling all its individual properties in order to emerge as one shiny uniform coin. —Jessica Hoppe, refinery29.com, 26 Sep. 2023

Now, three decades later, another woman says she was seriously injured by the same scalding liquid. —María Luisa Paúl, Washington Post, 20 Sep. 2023

The scalding water created billows of steam, and within an hour, the brothers would be drenched in runoff and chicken grime. —Hannah Dreier Meridith Kohut, New York Times, 18 Sep. 2023

Her Catholic faith was as elemental to her identity as her scalding insight and irreverence. —Sheri Linden, The Hollywood Reporter, 6 Sep. 2023

Noun

There are common diseases of hellebores in the Pacific Northwest, including black spot and black death, but this pattern of damage resembles sun scald more than either of the infectious conditions. —oregonlive, 17 Sep. 2023

Key Facts There were nearly 60,000 injuries from tap water scald burns needing hospital care in the U.S. from 2016 through 2018, researchers said, according to an analysis of national healthcare databases. —Robert Hart, Forbes, 7 Mar. 2023

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Word History

Etymology

Verb

Middle English, from Anglo-French *escalder, eschauder, from Late Latin excaldare to wash in warm water, from Latin ex- + calida, calda warm water, from feminine of calidus warm, from calēre to be warm — more at lee

Adjective (1)

scall + -ed entry 1

Adjective (2)

alteration of scalded

First Known Use

Verb

13th century, in the meaning defined at transitive sense 1

Noun (1)

1601, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Adjective (1)

1529, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Adjective (2)

1791, in the meaning defined above

Kids Definition

scald

1 of 2 verb

ˈskȯld 

1

: to burn with or as if with hot liquid or steam

2

a

: to cover with boiling water or steam

b

: to bring to a temperature just below the boiling point

scald milk

3

: scorch entry 1 sense 1

scald

2 of 2 noun

: an injury to the body caused by scalding

Medical Definition

scald

1 of 2 transitive verb

ˈskȯld 

: to burn with hot liquid or steam

scald

2 of 2 noun

: an injury to the body caused by scalding