be up to scratch
to be of a good enough standard

[TahlilGaran] Dictionary of Contemporary English ▲

satisfactory good enough – often used when something reaches a fairly good standard, but is not of a high standard:
Her grades are satisfactory.
For a beginner, this camera produces satisfactory results.
all right/OK spoken not bad, but not very good:
The meal was all right, but rather expensive.
‘How was the film?’ ‘It was OK.’
reasonable fairly good:
a reasonable standard of living
The quality of the food was reasonable.
acceptable if something is acceptable to you, you think it is good enough and you are willing to take it:
an acceptable offer
an acceptable level of risk
They can't find a solution that is acceptable to both sides.
adequate enough in quantity, or of a good enough standard. Adequate sounds rather formal and is used especially in official contexts:
an adequate supply of drinking water
adequate standards of hygiene
decent especially spoken good enough in quality – used especially when something is as good as most other things:
I want my kids to get a decent education.
Where can I get a decent cup of coffee?
The food’s decent and the service is good.
passable satisfactory, but not of the best quality – used especially about food and drink, or someone’s skill at doing something. Passable sounds rather formal:
a passable French wine
His Japanese was passable.
a passable imitation of Barack Obama
be up to scratch informal to be of a good enough standard:
His work wasn’t up to scratch.
None of the hotels they suggested were up to scratch.
will do informal to be good enough for a particular purpose:
Any kind of paper will do.
‘How about Ken?’ ‘I suppose he’ll do.’

[TahlilGaran] English Thesaurus ▲

up to scratch
at an acceptable standard or quality.
We're giving him a week to bring the team up to scratch.

Usage notes: often used in the form not up to scratch:
I'm afraid your last essay wasn't up to scratch.

Related vocabulary: on a par with someone/something

[TahlilGaran] English Idioms Dictionary ▲

up to scratch
• up to par/scratch/snuff
meeting normal standards, equal to the usual level or quality; at an expected or usual level or quality (par in golf is the usual number of strokes used to get around a golf course)
The man's work was not up to par and he was asked to leave his job.

The product was not up to par and was sent back to the factory for further improvement.

[TahlilGaran] English Idioms Dictionary ▲

up to scratch
See: UP TO FAR.

[TahlilGaran] English Idioms Dictionary ▲