scruff

noun/skrʌf/

Frequency rank: #18,734 of 20,003 in the WORDED list (wordfreq data)

Meaning

the loose skin at the back of an animal's (or person's) neck.

Illustration for the English word “scruff”

Example sentence

She grabbed the puppy by the scruff of its neck to lift it gently.

Synonyms & related words

More words in ranks 18,701–18,800