# scorch

> English word · Noun · IPA /skɔːtʃ/ · frequency rank #40,433

## Definitions
1. A slight or surface burn.
2. A discolouration caused by heat.
3. Brown discoloration on the leaves of plants caused by heat, lack of water or by fungi.

## Etymology
From Middle English scorchen, scorcnen (“to make dry; parch”), perhaps an alteration of earlier *scorpnen, from Old Norse skorpna (“to shrivel up”).

## Easily confused with
- **score** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/scorch-vs-score)
- **scorn** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/scorch-vs-scorn)
- **search** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/scorch-vs-search)
- **scored** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/scorch-vs-scored)
- **scores** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/scorch-vs-scores)
- **scotch** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/scorch-vs-scotch)
- **scorer** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/scorch-vs-scorer)
- **starch** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/scorch-vs-starch)
- **slouch** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/scorch-vs-slouch)
- **scarce** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/scarce-vs-scorch)

## Common misspellings (10)
`csorch`, `sccorch`, `scocrh`, `scorcch`, `scorchh`, `scorhc`, `scorrch`, `scroch`, `socrch`, `sscorch`

## Source
Compiled from Wiktionary via kaikki.org (CC BY-SA). Data vintage: 2026-05-06.
Canonical page: https://plainspell.com/en/word/scorch