scarf
/skɑɹf/noun, verb
scarf is spelled S-C-A-R-F: 5 letters and one syllable. It appears 4.8 times per million words in written English, the 11,541st most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As a noun, scarf means “A long, often knitted, garment worn around the neck” (English Wiktionary, September 2026). The plural of scarf is scarves or scarfs.
How many letters and syllables are in scarf?
| Letters | 5: S-C-A-R-F |
|---|---|
| Syllables | 1 |
| In writing | 4.8 times per million words; the 11,541st most frequent word form |
| Wrong spellings searched | none measured in search |
| Rhymes with |
Sources: letters and syllables from the English Wiktionary's hyphenation or pronunciation; written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media); rhymes and same-letter words are computed by PlainSpell from its own word list.
How common is scarf?
Scarf appears 4.8 times per million words in written English, the 11,541st most frequent word form in the list.
Source: written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How do you pronounce scarf?
- UK /skɑːf/
- US /skɑɹf/
- Australia /skɐːf/
Scarf has one syllable.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Recordings: En-au-scarf.ogg, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
What rhymes with scarf?
One word on PlainSpell end in the same sounds as scarf from its last stressed vowel (/ɑɹf/):
Computed by PlainSpell from the pronunciations in the English Wiktionary (dump of September 2, 2026): a rhyme shares every sound from the last stressed vowel to the end; ordered by written frequency (wordfreq 3.1).
Forms of scarf
- scarves plural
- scarfs plural, present, singular, he/she/it
- scarfing participle, present
- scarfed participle, past
- scarve
- scart
- skart
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does scarf mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
noun
- 1
A long, often knitted, garment worn around the neck.
- 2
A headscarf.
- 3
datedA neckcloth or cravat.
- 4
A type of joint in woodworking, formed by two shaped ends that fit into or onto each other.
- 5
A groove on one side of a sewing machine needle.
- 6
A dip or notch or cut made in the trunk of a tree to direct its fall when felling.
- 7
ScotlandA cormorant.
verb
- 1
To throw on loosely; to put on like a scarf.
- 2
To dress with a scarf, or as with a scarf; to cover with a loose wrapping.
She scarfed her head.
- 3
To cover as or like a scarf.
A cowl scarfed her shoulders.
- 4
To shape by grinding or oxyfuel torch cutting.
- 5
To form a scarf on the end or edge of, as for a joint in timber, forming a "V" groove for welding adjacent metal plates, metal rods, etc.
- 6
To unite, as two pieces of timber or metal, by a scarf joint.
- 7
USslangTo eat very quickly.
You sure scarfed that pizza.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Scarf in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
In the sense long garment worn around the neck:
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Translations are Wiktionary's, by sense; a linked word has its own PlainSpell page.
Where does scarf come from?
Probably from Old Northern French escarpe (compare Old French escharpe (“pilgrim's purse suspended from the neck”), which see). The verb is derived from the noun. Doublet of scrip.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).