score

Etymology

From Middle English score, skore, schore, from Old English scoru (“notch; tally; score”), from Old Norse skor, from Proto-Germanic *skurō (“incision; tear; rift”), which is related to *skeraną (“to cut”), ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *(s)ker- (“cut”). Cognate with Icelandic skora, Swedish skåra, Danish skår. Related to shear. For the sense “twenty”: The mark on a tally made by drovers for every twenty beasts passing through a tollgate.

noun

1. The total number of goals, points, runs, etc. earned by a participant in a game.
   The player with the highest score is the winner.
2. The number of points accrued by each of the participants in a game, expressed as a ratio or a series of numbers.
   The score is 8-1 even though it's not even half-time!
3. The performance of an individual or group on an examination or test, expressed by a number, letter, or other symbol; a grade.
   The test scores for this class were high.
4. Twenty, 20.
   Some words have scores of meanings.
   I went on trying for fish along the western bank down the river, but only small trout rose at my flies, and a score was the total catch. 1886, Peter Christen Asbjørnsen, translated by H.L. Brækstad, Folk and Fairy Tales, page 152
5. (gambling) An amount of money won in gambling; winnings.
   Use a few “introductory plays” to become known to a casino before you go for a big score. 2013, Arnold Snyder, Big Book of Blackjack
6. A distance of twenty yards, in ancient archery and gunnery.
7. A weight of twenty pounds.
8. (music) The written form of a musical composition showing all instrumental and vocal parts.
9. (music) The music of a movie or play.
   Even without hovering drones, a lurking assassin, a thumping score and a denouement, the real-life story of Edward Snowden, a rogue spy on the run, could be straight out of the cinema. But, as with Hollywood, the subplots and exotic locations may distract from the real message: America’s discomfort and its foes’ glee. 2013-06-29, “Travels and travails”, in The Economist, volume 407, number 8842, page 55
10. Subject.
    Well, although we haven't discussed the views of all those who make precise reckonings of being and not [being], we've done enough on that score. 2005, Plato, translated by Lesley Brown, Sophist, page 245e
11. Account; reason; motive; sake; behalf.
12. A notch or incision; especially, one that is made as a tally mark; hence, a mark, or line, made for the purpose of account.
13. An account or reckoning; account of dues; bill; debt.
14. (US, crime, slang) a criminal act, especially:
    1. A robbery.
       Let's pull a score!
       Batman: Dangerous crowd you're stealing from. Catwoman: Jesus. Is this how you get your kicks, hon? Sneaking up on girls in the dark? Batman: Is that why you work in the club? It was all just a score? 2022, Matt Reeves, Peter Craig, The Batman
    2. A bribe paid to a police officer.
    3. An illegal sale, especially of drugs.
       He made a big score.
    4. A prostitute's client.
15. (originally US, vulgar, slang) A sexual conquest.
    Ah, who gives a shit? The only score I'm interested in is the one I might make if some foxy chicks start pilin' outta there. 1976, William C. Thomas, Cat Murkil and the Silks, spoken by Punch
16. (UK, regional) In the Lowestoft area, a narrow pathway running down a cliff to the beach.
    Above the harbour, steeply up the hill, run The Bolts, narrow stepped passages, equivalent of The Scores of Lowestoft and The Rows of Great Yarmouth. 1975, John Seymour, The Companion Guide to the Coast of North-east England, page 206

verb

1. (transitive) To cut a notch or a groove in a surface.
   A very neat old woman, still in her good outdoor coat and best beehive hat, was sitting at a polished mahogany table on whose surface there were several scored scratches so deep that a triangular piece of the veneer had come cleanly away, […]. 1963, Margery Allingham, “Foreword”, in The China Governess
   The baker scored the cake so that the servers would know where to slice it.
2. (intransitive) To record the tally of points for a game, a match, or an examination.
3. (transitive, intransitive) To obtain something desired.
   1. To earn points in a game.
      It is unusual for a team to score a hundred goals in one game.
      Pelé scores again!
      And White Hart Lane was stunned when Rovers scored just five minutes after the restart in front of their away following. September 29, 2011, Jon Smith, “Tottenham 3 - 1 Shamrock Rovers”, in BBC Sport
   2. To achieve (a score) in e.g. a test.
      At the end of first grade, the children scored 80 percent correct on this test, a value that remained unchanged through third grade. 2004, Diane McGuinness, Early reading instruction: what science really tells us about how to teach reading
   3. (gambling) To win money by gambling.
      […] he scored big by hitting the jack pot at the Bellagio (he won $7,000). The next day, he won $15,000 on the nickel machines at the Palm Casino! 2005, Shannon Nash, For the Love of Money, page 215
   4. (slang) To acquire or gain.
      What am I doing in this place? / Why does the doctor have no face? / Oh, I can't crawl across the floor / Ah, can't you see, Sister Morphine, I'm trying to score 1971, Jagger–Richards, Marianne Faithfull (lyrics and music), “Sister Morphine”, in Sticky Fingers, performed by The Rolling Stones
      I jump up, bubble up, what's in store? / Love is the drug and I need to score 1975, Andy Mackay, Bryan Ferry (lyrics and music), “Love Is the Drug”, performed by Roxy Music
      I scored some drugs last night.
      Did you score tickets for the concert?
   5. (US, crime, slang, of a police officer) To extract a bribe.
   6. (vulgar, slang) To obtain a sexual favor.
      Chris finally scored with Pat last week.
      Gotta find a chick who'll give you more / Well, there's a spot that I've discovered / Where a guy's guaranteed to score 1982, “Prowlin'”, in Domenic Bugatti, Frank Muskeer, Christopher Cerf (lyrics), Grease 2
4. (transitive) To provide (a film, etc.) with a musical score.
   Godfather II is nothing like ready. It is not yet scored, and thus not mixed. There remain additional shooting, looping, editing. 1974, New York Magazine, volume 7, number 45, page 98
   Robertson scored several of Scorsese’s films, including Raging Bull, Casino, The Wolf of Wall Street and The Irishman. 10 Aug 2023, Adrian Horton, “Robbie Robertson, member of the Band, dies at age 80”, in The Guardian, UK

intj

1. (US, slang) Acknowledgement of success