Speakur

Word Pronunciation & Dictionary

scorched earth

Word Rarity Rare

Frequency: Zipf frequency 3.06 in modern English

Syllables
scorched earth
IPA
24
Scrabble Score
13
Letters
1
Syllables
9
Unique Chars

Meaning

noun

Land that has been abandoned, in the face of an advancing enemy, after the destruction of all resources on it.

Uncountable

noun

The strategy of destroying all resources in an area of land in order to deny their use to an advancing enemy.

Uncountable

adj

Alternative spelling of scorched-earth.

Etymology

Calque from Chinese 焦土 (jiāotǔ, “scorched earth; ravages of war”), originally in reference to the strategy adopted by the Chinese government in the Second Sino-Japanese War. First attested in 1937 as an idiom.

Origin

Usage

Inflected Forms

more scorched earth (comparative) most scorched earth (superlative)

Phrases

scorched-earth policy

Questions

What does scorched earth mean?
Land that has been abandoned, in the face of an advancing enemy, after the destruction of all resources on it.
Where does scorched earth come from?
First known use: First attested in 1937.

How to pronounce scorched earth

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  2. Read the phonetic spelling — Read the IPA spelling () so you know which sounds to aim for.
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  4. Repeat and practice — Say “scorched earth” aloud, matching stress and vowels until it feels natural.