scarecrow
To cause to look awkward and stiff, like a scarecrowTo cause (a person, their body, etc.) to look awkward and stiff, like a scarecrow (noun sense 1).
Recorded UK: Speaker: Vealhurl Recorder: Vealhurl, CC BY-SA 4.0, Wikimedia Commons
» There were several scarecrows in the field.
CK · Tatoeba · CC BY 2.0 FRMeaning
4 senses(transitive)To cause (a person, their body, etc.) to look awkward and stiff, like a scarecrow (noun sense 1).
To cause (a person, their body, etc.) to look awkward and stiff, like a scarecrow (noun sense 1).
(transitive)To splay (one's arms) away from the body, like the arms of a scarecrow.
(transitive)To frighten or terrify (someone or something), as if using a scarecrow.
(archaic, transitive)To spoil the appearance of (something, such as the landscape or a view), as scarecrows may be regarded as doing.
Examples
16 sentencesThere were several scarecrows in the field.
It looks like a scarecrow.
Dmitri added a scarecrow to the field.
The birds use the scarecrow as a perch.
The birds quickly became accustomed to the stuffed scarecrow.
ruПтицы быстро привыкли к набитому чучелу. — Wezel
deDie Vögel gewöhnten sich schnell an die ausgestopfte Vogelscheuche. — Pfirsichbaeumchen
Origin
The noun is derived from scare (“to frighten, startle, terrify”) + crow (“bird of the genuThe 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).
Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0 · source
Forms
scarecrows, scarecrowing, scarecrowed, scarecrowed| Base form | scarecrow · to scarecrow |
|---|---|
| 3rd person singular | scarecrows |
| Present participle | scarecrowing |
| Past simple | scarecrowed |
| Past participle | scarecrowed |
regular · Lesson
Lessons for this word
3 lessons- A1Present simple — Because it is a verb
- A1Past simple, regular verbs — Because of its past form
- A2Present perfect: introduction — Because of its past participle
See also
neighbours in the dictionaryDictionary text adapted from Wiktionary (Wiktionary contributors, CC BY-SA 4.0) and Open English WordNet / Princeton WordNet (CC BY 4.0, WordNet License); shared under CC BY-SA 4.0. Example sentences and recordings are credited where they appear.