scab.

1. A hardened crust of dried blood or other secretions covering a wound.

2. To become covered by a hardened crust as a wound dries.

3. A derogatory label for a worker who breaks a strike or works against union terms.

Use it for

Words that belong together

• scab on a wound
• pick a scab
• scab forms

On the page

A dark scab covered the cut, but the skin around it remained swollen.

Usage notes

Primary category: horror / gothic literary. Lexical Type: Word. Forms: Noun singular scab; plural scabs. Verb scab, scabs, scabbed, scabbed, scabbing. Commonness: common (editorial estimate; not a corpus frequency statistic). Legacy lexical fields mirror sense 1; numbered fields keep each relevant meaning separate. Research distinction: Noun hardened blood/serum crust over wound; domestic-animal scabies; contemptible person; union/labor worker meanings; plant diseases/crusted spots. Intransitive form a scab and act as labor scab; forms scabbed, scabbing. Individual writer usefulness checked for a distinct physical, ritual, facial or acoustic function. Definitions/examples are original; genre suitability is not an inherent emotional rating. Writing functions: precise physical or ritual description, gothic scene construction. Third-person singular: scabs.