SCRUFF

Pronunciation (US):

(GB):

 Dictionary entry overview: What does scruff mean? 

• SCRUFF (noun)
  The noun SCRUFF has 1 sense:

1. the back side of the neck

  Familiarity information: SCRUFF used as a noun is very rare.

 Dictionary entry details 

• SCRUFF (noun)

Sense 1

Meaning:

The back side of the neck

Classified under:

Nouns denoting body parts

Synonyms:

nape; nucha; scruff

Hypernyms ("scruff" is a kind of...):

back end; backside; rear (the side of an object that is opposite its front)

Holonyms ("scruff" is a part of...):

cervix; neck (the part of an organism (human or animal) that connects the head to the rest of the body)

 Context examples 

He took Buck by the scruff of the neck, and though the dog growled threateningly, dragged him to one side and replaced Sol-leks.

(The Call of the Wild, by Jack London)

Finally the man, too, got angry, and jumped down and kicked the dog, and then took it by the scruff of the neck and half dragged and half threw it on the tombstone on which the seat is fixed.

(Dracula, by Bram Stoker)