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Glite Dictionary
without a scratch

without a scratch

13 2.7
Not hurt or damaged after a dangerous event
  • idiom
  • Informal
: sin un rasguño
  • She fell off her bike but got up without a scratch.
  • walked away without a scratch
  • escaped without a scratch
  • survived without a scratch

Would you rather be able to say that you rode on an alligator without a scratch or wrestled a shark without a bite?

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Examples

  • All his mates who worked the motor pool came home without a scratch.

    Mr. Holmes (2015)

  • Still not included in this astounding report are the survivors such as Andrew Jackson, Franklin Roosevelt, Harry S. Truman, and Gerald Ford, all of whom escaped without a scratch.

    Blog text (29)

  • Yo, bring my car back without a scratch.

    The Fall Guy (2024)

  • Bring that back without a scratch on her, you got it?

    Road House (2024)

  • The girl comes out without a scratch.

    The Woodsman (2004)

  • And I promise we'll bring it back... without a scratch.

    The Man Who Wasn't There (1983)

  • And yet this boy can get in and out without a scratch.

    Good Morning, Vietnam (1987)

  • Remarkably, I escaped without a scratch.

    Demolition (2016)

  • His heart was pounding like crazy, but he had survived without a scratch.

    Fiction book (1999)

  • And the Gorn escaped without a scratch.

    Trigger Man (2007)

Synonyms

unharmed
vswithout a scratch
51 2.1

Not hurt or damaged after a dangerous event

focuses on not suffering damage during an incident rather than ongoing safety
unhurt
vswithout a scratch
7 1.0

Not physically injured after an accident or dangerous event

is broader, applying to any damage not only to the body
uninjured
vswithout a scratch
7 1.8

Not hurt physically

covers all kinds of absence of damage, not only mental effects
without scathe
vswithout a scratch
  • Archaic
1 9.7

To not be hurt or blamed after a risky event

focuses on lack of physical or material damage rather than criticism
ungrazed
vswithout a scratch
5.7

Not having scrapes or small cuts on the skin

refers to overall absence of damage, not only surface abrasions or marks

Antonyms

damaged
378 1.1

Harmed so it works or looks worse

How Damaged

destroyed
65 2.8
damaged
378 1.1
without a scratch
  • Informal
13 2.7

Surface Forms

without a scratch positive

Morphology

without + a + scratch

The meaning 'without suffering any injury or damage' is directly and compositionally derived from 'without' (lack of), the article 'a', and 'scratch' (a small mark or wound), so a B1 learner who knows the constituents can infer there was not even a small injury. This construction follows a common cross-linguistic pattern expressing absence and involves no idiomatic or metaphorical shift, making it readily understandable.

Etymology

Without a scratch comes from the simple image of something that goes through danger but stays without even a small scratch on its surface. That's why we say it to mean 'not hurt' or 'not damaged'.