Meaning & use
scarecrow
Last updated
Meanings
nouncountable
A figure shaped like a person, set up in a field to frighten birds away from crops.
Grammar: Countable: a scarecrow, the scarecrow, scarecrows.
Patterns
- a scarecrow
- the scarecrow
- scarecrows in the field
The farmer put a scarecrow in the middle of the field.
Birds avoided the corn because of the scarecrow.
The old scarecrow was made of straw and old clothes.
nouncountablefigurative
A person who looks very thin and ragged, like a scarecrow.
Grammar: Countable and often used figuratively.
Patterns
- look like a scarecrow
- a scarecrow of a man
After the long journey, he looked like a scarecrow.
She was dressed in rags, a real scarecrow.
Word forms
| plural | scarecrows |
|---|
Common combinations
- put up a scarecrow
- They put up a scarecrow to protect the vegetables.
- straw scarecrow
- The straw scarecrow wore a floppy hat.
- look like a scarecrow
- With his torn coat, he looked like a scarecrow.
Commonly confused: scarecrow or scare? scarecrow or crow?
scarecrow vs scare
Scare means to frighten or a feeling of fear; a scarecrow is the figure used to frighten birds.
scarecrow vs crow
A crow is a large black bird; a scarecrow is a human-shaped figure.
Practice
What is a scarecrow used for?
Choose one answer.
A scarecrow is a figure set up in fields to keep birds away from crops. The other options describe different purposes not associated with scarecrows.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “scarecrow”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.