scat
/skæt/ IELTSAcademic
verb
to go away quickly; leave immediately. It is often used in commands or informal speech.
- Scat! Get out of here.
- The cat scattered when the dog came in.
- Scat before the rain starts.
noun
a type of jazz singing with nonsense syllables instead of words.
- She can scat beautifully.
- His scat was the best part of the song.
- They loved the singer's scat style.
Adinary Nuance
As a verb, scat is more abrupt than go away or leave. It sounds bossy, playful, or old-fashioned, so it is not polite in serious situations. In jazz, scat is different from singing because it uses made-up sounds instead of real lyrics.
In other languages
- Vietnamese
- đi đi
- Spanish
- ¡lárgate!
- Chinese
- 走开
- Japanese
- どっか行け
- Korean
- 저리 가
Etymology
The verb use is a shortening of older words meaning 'run off' or 'scamper,' recorded in English in the 1800s. The jazz sense came later, in the 20th century, from the idea of playful improvised singing.
Common phrases
scat singingscat!go scat
Synonyms
Related words
Frequently asked questions
- Is scat rude or informal?
- Yes, as a command, it sounds rude or very informal.
- What is scat singing?
- It is jazz singing with improvised nonsense syllables.
- Is scat the same as shoo?
- No. Shoo is mainly used to drive animals away.
- Can I use scat in business English?
- No. It sounds too informal for business writing or speech.