I. ˈskəf verb
( -ed/-ing/-s )
Etymology: probably of Scandinavian origin; akin to Swedish skuffa to push and perhaps to Old Norse skūfa, skȳfa to shove — more at shove
intransitive verb
1.
a. : to walk without lifting the feet : proceed with a scraping or dragging movement : shuffle
peasant girls with … their bare feet scuffing on the flags — Gerald Durrell
b. : to poke or shuffle a foot in exploration or embarrassment
farmers scuffed at the powder-dry earth — Time
2. : to become scratched, chipped, or roughened by wear
a sleek, hard surface that won't dent, crack, or scuff — advt
transitive verb
1.
a. Scotland : to touch lightly in passing : graze
b. Scotland : to brush aside : wipe off
2. : to attack or injure with or as if with the fists : cuff , buffet
nursing a scuffed eyelid … after the match — Time
a play that has been brutally scuffed by the critics — Philip Hamburger
3.
a. : to scrape (as the feet) along a surface while walking or back and forth while standing
scuffed my shoes on a mat — Joseph Wechsberg
b. : to scatter, tread, or toss aside by or as if by shuffling with the feet
scuffing the leaves and sniffing the dusty smell of them — John Moore
the world scuffs them underfoot like dirty snow — Time
c. : to poke at with the toe
mountain people scuff rocks on unpaved Main Street while discussing the weather — Bob Koonce
4. : to scratch, gouge, wear away the surface of, or otherwise injure through abrasion or use
a plain pine floor that was very much scuffed — R.M.Coates
his cuffs were frayed, his shoes were scuffed — New Yorker
II. noun
( -s )
1. Scotland : a light glancing blow : cuff
2. : a noise of or as if of scuffing
the soft scuff of his own footsteps — Leslie Charteris
3.
a. : the act or an instance of scuffing : a wearing away or injuring by use or abrasion
b. : a mark, gouge, roughness, or other injury caused by scuffing
shoe leather that resists scuffs
4. : a usually flat-soled house slipper without quarter or counter — compare mule
5. : a brush with the heel forward in tap dancing
III. noun
( -s )
Etymology: origin unknown
: scruff III 1