scald

1 of 5

verb

scalded; scalding; scalds

transitive verb

1
: to burn with or as if with hot liquid or steam
2
a
: to subject to the action of boiling water or steam
b
: to bring to a temperature just below the boiling point
scald milk
3
: scorch

intransitive verb

1
: to scald something
2
: to become scalded

scald

2 of 5

noun (1)

1
: an injury to the body caused by scalding
2
: an act or process of scalding
3
: any of various conditions or diseases of plants or fruits marked especially by a usually brownish discoloration of tissue

scald

3 of 5

adjective (1)

1
archaic : scabby, scurfy
2
archaic : shabby, contemptible

scald

4 of 5

noun (2)

variant spelling of skald

: an ancient Scandinavian poet
broadly : bard

scald

5 of 5

adjective (2)

: subjected to scalding
coffee … with scald creamCharles Kingsley

Examples of scald in a Sentence

Verb The steam scalded his skin. Scald the tomatoes in boiling water so that you can peel them more easily.
Recent Examples on the Web
Verb
With temperatures reaching 250 degrees, the groundwater can easily melt the soles of shoes and scald feet with third-degree burns. Martha Ross, The Mercury News, 20 Jan. 2024 Suddenly, a lot more people were getting scalded in showers. Jeanne Huber, Washington Post, 19 Jan. 2024 Become a Subscriber That children are frequently scalded by hot liquids makes perfect sense. Yasmin Tayag, The Atlantic, 26 Dec. 2023 In 2016, two toddlers died after they were scalded by steam from a radiator in a Bronx apartment building. Meredith Deliso, ABC News, 19 Jan. 2024 The contractor told us that the manufacturers now have guards on the hot water handle to prevent children from being scalded. Jeanne Huber, Washington Post, 19 Jan. 2024 The repetitive, meticulous process takes three days to complete and involves marinating the duck, scalding the skin, and hanging and drying the duck multiple times before roasting. Jenn Harris, Los Angeles Times, 8 Jan. 2024 By 2015, the wooden floors warped, scalding water gushed from faucets, the ceiling leaked and collapsed, injuring Mr. Tyler-Leonard’s back, and faulty wiring left him with blistering burns, according to court and state records and photographs shared with the Times. Ronda Kaysen, New York Times, 30 Jan. 2024 And the scalding thing is, all of this plays as perfectly plausible corporate behavior; so does the company’s sudden diversity frenzy after its facial-recognition software fails to recognize the faces of Black people (a scandal that’s quickly dubbed Ghanagate). Owen Gleiberman, Variety, 20 Jan. 2024
Adjective
Several comics made light of high-risk behavior with flames, scald injury, contact injury, or burns. Discover Magazine, 19 Nov. 2019
Noun
There are common diseases of hellebores in the Pacific Northwest, including black spot and black death, but this pattern of damage resembles sun scald more than either of the infectious conditions. oregonlive, 17 Sep. 2023 Key Facts There were nearly 60,000 injuries from tap water scald burns needing hospital care in the U.S. from 2016 through 2018, researchers said, according to an analysis of national healthcare databases. Robert Hart, Forbes, 7 Mar. 2023

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'scald.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

Word History

Etymology

Verb

Middle English, from Anglo-French *escalder, eschauder, from Late Latin excaldare to wash in warm water, from Latin ex- + calida, calda warm water, from feminine of calidus warm, from calēre to be warm — more at lee

Adjective (1)

scall + -ed entry 1

Adjective (2)

alteration of scalded

First Known Use

Verb

13th century, in the meaning defined at transitive sense 1

Noun (1)

1601, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Adjective (1)

1529, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Adjective (2)

1791, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of scald was in the 13th century

Dictionary Entries Near scald

Cite this Entry

“Scald.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/scald. Accessed 19 Mar. 2024.

Kids Definition

scald

1 of 2 verb
1
: to burn with or as if with hot liquid or steam
2
a
: to cover with boiling water or steam
b
: to bring to a temperature just below the boiling point
scald milk
3

scald

2 of 2 noun
: an injury to the body caused by scalding

Medical Definition

scald

1 of 2 transitive verb
: to burn with hot liquid or steam

scald

2 of 2 noun
: an injury to the body caused by scalding
Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
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