Phrase guide

scratch one's head

verb · 1 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

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1

verb

Meaning 1

To puzzle, ponder, or wonder about something.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Usage: idiomatic

Examples

  • Faced with a box full of hundreds of small parts and forty pages worth of assembly instructions, he could do little more than stand there and scratch his head.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

History

Etymology

scratch + one's + head