Definition of: scorch

(skôrch) v.t.
1. To change the color, taste, etc., of by slight burning; char the surface of.
2. To wither or shrivel by heat.
3. To affect painfully, as if by heat; criticize severely.
—v.i.
4. To become scorched.
5. Colloq. To go at high speed.
—noun
1. A superficial burn.
2. A mark caused by heat, as a slight burn. [Prob. related to ME skorken <ON skorpna dry up, shrivel; infl. in form by OF escorchier flay <L excorticare <ex- off + cortex, -icis bark]
—scorch′ing adjective
—scorch′·ing·ly adverb