itch

«itch» in Mova's school dictionary: a feeling on your skin that makes you want to scratch it — its meaning for a pupil, its sense in the lessons and examples, with 5 sentences of Mova's corpora that use it.

part of speech

noun (an itch, itches); verb (itch, itches, itched, itching)

meaning for a pupil

1) An itch is a feeling on your skin that makes you want to scratch it. tree →

2) To itch means your skin has that feeling, or that something makes your skin feel like that, like a woolly jumper. tree →

3) An itch to do something, or itching to do it, means you really want to do it soon. tree →

sense in the lessons

Everyday and health: insect bites, chickenpox, nettles, dry skin, nits (head lice) and some plants make you itch; scratching can break the skin and let germs in, so cream, a cool cloth or not scratching is better. In stories «itching to» shows impatience. Phrases: «scratch an itch», «itching to go», «an itchy jumper», «itchy feet» (wanting to travel).

examples

• The mosquito bite started to itch. tree →
• Try not to scratch that itch or it will bleed. tree →
• This wool jumper makes my neck itch. tree →
• I had an itch on my back I could not reach. tree →
• Chickenpox spots itch a lot. tree →
• The children were itching to go outside and play in the snow. tree →
• Nettles made my legs itch for an hour. tree →
• Dad has itchy feet and wants to travel again. tree →
• Hook itched to do it, but it seemed too brutal. tree →

note

Adjective: «itchy». Do not confuse «itch» with «scratch»: the itch is the feeling, the scratch is what you do with your nails. «Itches» is both the plural noun and the verb with he/she/it: «My arm itches». Constant itching of the head can mean nits; tell an adult.

In the corpora

• Elephants sometimes use tools, such as a stick to scratch an itch or a leafy branch to swat flies.
• Donkeys love to roll in dust, which scratches itches, cleans the coat and keeps off flies.
• A mosquito had dinner while you slept, and the itch is your body reacting to its spit.
• Tiny hairs on stinging nettle leaves inject a liquid that stings and itches, so keep away and wear long trousers on overgrown paths.
• Cover your arms and legs and use repellent in the evening, because mosquito bites itch and in some places carry diseases.

Trees and pragmatics

Every meaning and example of «itch» parsed by Mova, each sentence with its dependency tree and frames.