scorch

1 of 3

verb (1)

scorched; scorching; scorches

transitive verb

1
: to burn a surface of so as to change its color and texture
2
a
: to dry or shrivel with or as if with intense heat : parch
b
: to afflict painfully with censure or sarcasm
3
: devastate
especially : to destroy (something, such as property of possible use to an advancing enemy) before abandoning
used in the phrase scorched earth

intransitive verb

1
: to become scorched
2
: to travel at great and usually excessive speed
3
: to cause intense heat or mental anguish
scorching sun
scorching fury
scorchingly adverb

scorch

2 of 3

noun

1
: a result of scorching
2
: a browning of plant tissues usually from disease or heat

scorch

3 of 3

verb (2)

scorched; scorching; scorches

transitive verb

dialectal British
: cut, slash

Examples of scorch in a Sentence

Verb (1) the picnickers kept scorching their marshmallows, deliberately sticking their skewers into the licking flames of the campfire weeks of drought had badly scorched the soil
Recent Examples on the Web
Verb
The Airport fire, in Orange and Riverside counties, was 95% contained, after destroying 160 structures and scorching about 23,500 acres. Grace Toohey, Los Angeles Times, 30 Sep. 2024 Empress Of Is In Heat Empress Of kicked off the block party as the sun scorched the early arriving EDM-loving crowd, but the Los Angeles native wanted to make things even hotter on the stage. Mark Gray, Rolling Stone, 28 Sep. 2024
Noun
Local cops suspected him of homicide The week’s biggest stories (Allen J. Schaben/Los Angeles Times) Los Angeles scorches under triple-digit temperatures with little relief overnight. Hunter Clauss, Los Angeles Times, 7 Sep. 2024 This is the same wild dragon that has been roaming the land, leaving scorch marks on the ground to mark its prey. Nick Romano, EW.com, 5 Aug. 2024 See all Example Sentences for scorch 

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'scorch.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

Word History

Etymology

Verb (1)

Middle English; probably akin to Middle English scorcnen to become singed, scorklen to parch

Verb (2)

Middle English, perhaps blend of scoren to score and scocchen to scotch

First Known Use

Verb (1)

14th century, in the meaning defined at transitive sense 1

Noun

15th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Verb (2)

14th century, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of scorch was in the 14th century

Dictionary Entries Near scorch

Cite this Entry

“Scorch.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/scorch. Accessed 12 Oct. 2024.

Kids Definition

scorch

1 of 2 verb
1
: to burn on the surface
2
: to burn so as to dry, wilt, or turn brown

scorch

2 of 2 noun
1
: a result of scorching
2
: a browning of plant tissues usually caused by disease or heat

More from Merriam-Webster on scorch

Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
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