Meaning & use
scarf
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Meanings
nouncountable
A piece of cloth worn around the neck or head, often for warmth or decoration.
Grammar: Countable: you can say 'a scarf' or 'two scarves'.
Patterns
- wear a scarf
- a woolen scarf
- wrap a scarf around something
She wore a red scarf to keep her neck warm.
He bought a silk scarf as a present for his mother.
The wind was cold, so I wrapped my scarf around my face.
verbtransitiveinformal
To eat something very quickly and eagerly.
Grammar: Often used with 'down': 'He scarfed down his dinner.' Takes an object.
Patterns
- scarf something
- scarf down something
- scarf something down
He scarfed his lunch in five minutes.
The kids scarfed down the pizza before the movie started.
Don't scarf your food so fast; you'll feel sick.
Word forms
| plural | scarves |
|---|---|
| third person singular | scarfs |
| past tense | scarfed |
| past participle | scarfed |
| -ing form | scarfing |
Common combinations
- woolen scarf
- She knitted a woolen scarf for winter.
- silk scarf
- He gave her a silk scarf for her birthday.
- scarf down
- They scarfed down their sandwiches and ran back to class.
- wear a scarf
- You should wear a scarf; it's freezing outside.
Synonyms and how they differ
Word family
- scarf verb
- Informal: to eat quickly.
Commonly confused: scarf or scarves?
scarf vs scarves
This is the plural of 'scarf' (noun), not a different word. The verb form is 'scarfs' (he scarfs) or 'scarfed' (past).
Practice
Choose the correct sentence.
Choose one answer.
The phrasal verb 'scarf down' takes an object: 'scarfed down her breakfast' is correct. Option B is also grammatical but less common; the standard order is verb + down + object. Options C and D are missing a determiner or sound unnatural.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “scarf”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.