: a thin growth of beard : stubble
He's lean, and not too tall, with spiky hair, scruff on his chin, and a deep voice.—
Margot Cleary
Margot ClearyThe uniform isn't so much suit and tie as it is plaid shirt, work boots, and two-day scruff.—Laura Regensdorf
Laura RegensdorfExamples of scruff in a Sentence
Noun (1)
She held the kitten by the scruff of its neck.
Recent Examples on the Web
Steve Conroy, Boston Herald, 12 Jan. 2026
All of the fan art was this ginormous guy with brown eyes and scruff.
—Nicole Fell, HollywoodReporter, 11 Dec. 2025
Who is this seven-foot-tall gay man with perfect hair, perfect scruff, a perfect mustache, perfect sweater, perfect baking, perfect everything?
—Brian Moylan, Vulture, 5 Sep. 2025
Pedro Pascal is quickly establishing himself among the latter group, bringing his distinct pencil-thin mustache to roles as varied as post apocalyptic survivors, highly eligible bachelors, and small town mayors — the only thing that varies is the level of scruff in his beard.
—Christian Zilko, IndieWire, 22 July 2025
See All Example Sentences for scruff
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Noun
Nikita Zadorov rather comically grabbed Chinakhov by the scruff of the neck and dragged him out of the net.
—Steve Conroy, Boston Herald, 12 Jan. 2026
All of the fan art was this ginormous guy with brown eyes and scruff.
—Nicole Fell, HollywoodReporter, 11 Dec. 2025
Who is this seven-foot-tall gay man with perfect hair, perfect scruff, a perfect mustache, perfect sweater, perfect baking, perfect everything?
—Brian Moylan, Vulture, 5 Sep. 2025
Pedro Pascal is quickly establishing himself among the latter group, bringing his distinct pencil-thin mustache to roles as varied as post apocalyptic survivors, highly eligible bachelors, and small town mayors — the only thing that varies is the level of scruff in his beard.
—Christian Zilko, IndieWire, 22 July 2025
See All Example Sentences for scruff
Cite this Entry
“Scruff.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/scruff. Accessed 25 Jan. 2026.
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