A scar is a mark left on your skin after a wound has healed. When you cut yourself or scrape your knee badly enough, your body forms new tissue to close the injury. This repair tissue looks and feels different from regular skin: it might be lighter or darker, raised or smooth, and it doesn't have the same texture as the surrounding area.

Scars tell stories. An athlete might have a scar on their elbow from a spectacular wipeout while learning to skateboard. A carpenter might have small scars on their hands from years of careful work. Some scars fade until they're barely visible, while others remain prominent reminders of what happened.

The word also describes lasting marks on other things. A wooden desk might show scars from years of use, with scratches and dents that reveal its history. A landscape can be scarred by a wildfire or construction.

People sometimes use scar to describe emotional wounds too. A person might say a difficult experience scarred them, meaning it left a lasting impact on how they think or feel. Whether physical or emotional, scars are lasting marks that remain after healing, evidence that something significant happened and that repair occurred.