scorch
Americanverb (used with object)
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to affect the color, taste, etc., of by burning slightly.
The collar of the shirt was yellow where the iron had scorched it.
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to parch or shrivel with heat.
The sun scorched the grass.
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to criticize severely.
- Antonyms:
- laud
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Machinery. burn.
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to destroy (crops, towns, etc.) by or as if by fire in the path of an invading army's advance.
verb (used without object)
-
to become scorched.
Milk scorches easily.
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Informal. to travel or drive at high speed.
The car scorched along the highway.
noun
verb
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to burn or become burnt, so as to affect the colour, taste, etc, or to cause or feel pain
-
to wither or parch or cause to wither from exposure to heat
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informal (intr) to be very hot
it is scorching outside
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informal (tr) to criticize harshly
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slang (intr) to drive or ride very fast
noun
-
a slight burn
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a mark caused by the application of too great heat
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horticulture a mark or series of marks on fruit, vegetables, etc, caused by pests or insecticides
Related Words
See burn 1.
Other Word Forms
- scorching adjective
- unscorched adjective
- well-scorched adjective
Etymology
Origin of scorch
1400–50; late Middle English scorchen, perhaps blend of scorcnen (< Scandinavian; compare Old Norse skorpna to shrivel) and torch 1
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
But the new-era stocks put up scorching gains through that period.
From Barron's
Henry Arundell is the only wing to start all three games for England, but the 23-year-old Bath flier's game is more centred around his scorching pace.
From BBC
The only mark of its presence was a small brown spot where its breath had scorched the pillowcase.
From Literature
That explosion of tomato and garlic, the ooze of cheese, it erased the smell of bleach that had scorched his nostrils; it filled up the hollow emptiness that yawned in his belly.
From Literature
He was the main winner at last year's ceremony, too, winning both record and song of the year for his scorching diss track, Not Like Us.
From BBC
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
