Word Pronunciation & Dictionary

scarecrow

/ˈskɛɚˌkɹoʊ/

Word Rarity Rare

Frequency: Zipf frequency 3.09 in modern English

Syllables: scare-crow
IPA: /ˈskɛɚˌkɹoʊ/

16

Scrabble Score

9

Letters

2

Syllables

7

Unique Chars

Meaning

noun

An effigy, typically made of straw and dressed in old clothes, fixed to a pole in a field to deter birds from eating crops or seeds planted there.

noun

A person or animal regarded as resembling a scarecrow (sense 1) in some way; especially, a tall, thin, awkward person; or a person wearing ragged and tattered clothes.

Derogatory

noun

Synonym of crow scarer (“a farmhand employed to scare birds from the fields”).

Dated

noun

Anything that appears terrifying but presents no danger; a paper tiger.

noun

Military equipment or tactics used to scare and deter rather than cause actual damage.

noun

The black tern (Chlidonias niger).

British usage; Obsolete

noun

The hooded crow (Corvus cornix).

British usage; Obsolete

verb

To cause (a person, their body, etc.) to look awkward and stiff, like a scarecrow (noun sense 1).

Transitive verb

Example Sentences

"VVots thou vvho's returnd, / The unthrift Bonvile, ragged as a ſcarre-crovv, / The VVarres have gnavv'd his garments to the skinne: […]"
"[W]e ſet him [the Devil] up like a Scare-Crovv to fright Children and old VVomen, to fill up old Stories, make Songs and Ballads, and in a VVord, carry on the lovv priz'd Buffoonry of the common People; […]"
"The things which he had to put on were so old and ragged that they would scarce hold together; and they were so dirty that no ragamuffin of the street would have picked them out of the gutter; no scarecrow in the fields ever had such clothes."
"Priapus was frequently represented sculpturally, as a kind of scarecrow among the fields and even as a protection over graveyards."
"The ſeely man ſeeing him ryde ſo ranck, / And ayme at him, fell flatt to ground for feare, / And crying Mercy loud, his pitious handes gan reare. // Thereat the Scarcrovv vvexed vvondrous provvd, / Through fortune of his firſt aduenture fayre, / And vvith big thundring voice reuyld him lovvd; […]"
"No eye hath ſeene ſuch skarcrovves. Ile not march vvith them through Couentry vvith them, thats flat: […]"

Etymology

The noun is derived from scare (“to frighten, startle, terrify”) + crow (“bird of the genus Corvus”). The word displaced other terms such as bogle (now dialectal, dated), sewel or shewel, and shoy-hoy (perhaps imitative of the cry of crows). The verb is derived from the noun.

Regional Pronunciation

American English: /ˈskɛɚˌkɹoʊ/
British English: /ˈskɛəkɹəʊ/

Usage

Inflected Forms

scarecrows (plural) scare-crow (alternative, obsolete) skarcrow (alternative, obsolete) scarecrows (present, singular) scarecrowing (participle, present) scarecrowed (participle, past) scarecrowed (past)

Derived Forms

scarecrowish scarecrowlike scarecrowy

Frequently Paired Words

clapper straw man

Synonyms

beanpole crow scarer bird-scarer crowkeeper frayboggard gallicrow gallybagger malkin mammet potato-bogle scare-beggar scare-the-birds

Questions

How do you pronounce scarecrow?: The recorded pronunciation is /ˈskɛɚˌkɹoʊ/.
What does scarecrow mean?: An effigy, typically made of straw and dressed in old clothes, fixed to a pole in a field to deter birds from eating crops or seeds planted there.
Where does scarecrow come from?: The noun is derived from scare (“to frighten, startle, terrify”) + crow (“bird of the genus Corvus”). The word displaced other terms such as bogle (now dialectal, dated), sewel or shewel, and shoy-hoy (perhaps imitative of the cry of crows). The verb is derived from the noun.

How to pronounce scarecrow

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Read the phonetic spelling — Read the IPA spelling (/ˈskɛɚˌkɹoʊ/) so you know which sounds to aim for.
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