scarecrow
IPA: skˈærkroʊ
noun
- An effigy, typically made of straw and dressed in old clothes, fixed to a pole in a field to deter birds from eating crops or seeds planted there.
- (by extension, derogatory) A person regarded as resembling a scarecrow (sense 1) in some way; especially, a tall, thin, awkward person; or a person wearing ragged and tattered clothes.
- (dated) Synonym of crow scarer (“a farmhand employed to scare birds from the fields”)
- (figuratively)
- Anything that appears terrifying but presents no danger; a paper tiger.
- (military, World War II, historical) Military equipment or tactics used to scare and deter rather than cause actual damage.
- (Britain, dialectal, obsolete)
- The black tern (Chlidonias niger).
- The hooded crow (Corvus cornix).
verb
- To cause (a person, their body, etc.) to look awkward and stiff, like a scarecrow (noun sense 1).
- To splay (one's arms) away from the body, like the arms of a scarecrow.
- To frighten or terrify (someone or something), as if using a scarecrow.
- (archaic) To spoil the appearance of (something, such as the landscape or a view), as scarecrows may be regarded as doing.
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Examples of "scarecrow" in Sentences
No Sentences Found for scarecrow
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