Pronunciation: /skrætʃ ðə ˈsɜːrfɪs/
noun a superficial understanding or knowledge of a subject or problem
A1 I only scratched the surface of the topic during the presentation.
A2 The introductory course only scratched the surface of the subject.
B1 The article barely scratches the surface of the issue at hand.
B2 The documentary really scratched the surface of the complex historical events.
C1 The research paper delves deeper into the topic than just scratching the surface.
C2 The book offers an in-depth analysis that goes beyond scratching the surface of the subject.
verb to only begin to understand or deal with a subject or problem
A1 I only scratched the surface of learning Spanish.
A2 She scratched the surface of the topic during her presentation.
B1 The documentary only scratches the surface of the issue.
B2 The book really scratches the surface of quantum physics.
C1 His research paper barely scratches the surface of the subject.
C2 The documentary series delves deep into the topic, unlike other shows that only scratch the surface.
formal In order to truly understand the complexity of the situation, we must do more than just scratch the surface.
informal Just reading the headlines won't give you the full picture, you need to scratch the surface a bit more.
slang You think you know everything about her, but you've barely scratched the surface.
figurative The research paper only scratches the surface of the topic, there's so much more to explore.
scratched
scratch the surfaces
more scratch the surface
most scratch the surface
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will scratch the surface
has scratched the surface
is scratching the surface
scratches the surface
scratch the surface
to scratch the surface
scratching the surface
scratching the surface