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
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Verb
In New York City, brush fires scorched parts of Prospect and Inwood Hill parks over the past week. Evan Bush, NBC News, 14 Nov. 2024 But the music and dance numbers don’t leave much of an impression, except one in which Saldaña scorches things up in a restaurant and another when Selena Gomez, as Emilia’s wife Jessi, sings and dances in a bedroom. Randy Myers, The Mercury News, 13 Nov. 2024
Noun
Using it as a face shield in super dry mountain air also helped prevent lung scorch. Mark Eller, Outside Online, 15 Nov. 2024 The leaves affected by scorch are usually on the sunny or windy side of the tree, while leaf blotch affects most leaves with tiny black fruiting bodies present on the lesions. Tim Johnson, Chicago Tribune, 3 Nov. 2024 See all Example Sentences for scorch 

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 30 Nov. 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
Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!