Phrase guide

chicken scratch

noun · 6 senses · updated from the 2026-07-25 local source snapshot

Definitions and examples are grouped by meaning. Pronunciation, history, word forms, translations, descendants, synonyms, antonyms, derived terms, and related words appear whenever the source provides them.

Sound

Pronunciation

Each Play button uses your device's default local English voice, or a natural local fallback. The selected voice name appears after playback. This is synthesized speech, not a source recording.

  • Australia: Recorded audio is listed in the source snapshot.

1

noun

Meaning 1

Chicken feed consisting of random mixed grains such as corn, wheat, barley, sorghum and milling by-products.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Usage: countable, uncountable

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: scratch[Appendix:Glossary

Antonyms: none provided

Broader terms: feed, food

2

noun

Meaning 2

Cramped or illegible handwriting.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Usage: countable, idiomatic, informal, uncountable

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: scratch[Appendix:Glossary, scrawl

Antonyms: none provided

3

noun

Meaning 3

A type of cross-stitch embroidery done on gingham fabric.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Usage: countable, uncountable

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: Amish embroidery, Depression lace

Antonyms: none provided

4

noun

Meaning 4

A Tohono O'odham style of dance music derived from norteño.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Usage: countable, uncountable

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

5

noun

Meaning 5

A type of dragging two-step performed to this.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Usage: countable, uncountable

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

6

noun

Meaning 6

cramped or illegible handwriting

Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

Broader terms: scribble, scratch, scrawl, cacography

History

Etymology

No etymology was provided for this word.

Across languages

Translations

24 source translations are retained for this English entry.

  • Armenian: ագռավի ճանկեր (agṙavi čanker) — informal: illegible handwriting
  • Czech: blechy — informal: illegible handwriting
  • Danish: kragetæer — informal: illegible handwriting
  • Dutch: hanenpoten — informal: illegible handwriting
  • Finnish: harakanvarpaat — informal: illegible handwriting
  • French: pattes de mouche — informal: illegible handwriting
  • French: hiéroglyphes — informal: illegible handwriting
  • French: griffonnage — informal: illegible handwriting
  • German: Sauklaue — informal: illegible handwriting
  • German: Krähenfüße — informal: illegible handwriting
  • Greek: ορνιθοσκαλίσματα (ornithoskalísmata) — informal: illegible handwriting
  • Malay: cakar ayam — informal: illegible handwriting
  • Polish: pisanie jak kura pazurem — informal: illegible handwriting
  • Portuguese: garrancho — informal: illegible handwriting
  • Russian: кара́кули (karákuli) — informal: illegible handwriting
  • Russian: как ку́рица лапой (kak kúrica lapoj) — informal: illegible handwriting
  • Sicilian: scrittura a pedi di jaḍḍina — informal: illegible handwriting
  • Spanish: garrapato — informal: illegible handwriting
  • Spanish: garambainas — informal: illegible handwriting
  • Spanish: garabato — informal: illegible handwriting
  • Thai: อักษรไก่เขี่ย (àk-sɔ̌ɔn-gài-kìia) — informal: illegible handwriting
  • Ukrainian: кара́кулі (karákuli) — informal: illegible handwriting
  • Ukrainian: як ку́рка ла́пою (jak kúrka lápoju) — informal: illegible handwriting
  • Vietnamese: chữ như gà bới — informal: illegible handwriting