scram

1 of 2

verb

ˈskram

scrammed; scramming

Synonyms of scram next

intransitive verb

: to go away at once

scram, you're not wanted

scram

2 of 2

noun

: a rapid emergency shutdown of a nuclear reactor

Example Sentences

Verb The vandals scrammed before the police could arrive.

Recent Examples on the Web

Verb

Nuclear reactors cannot handle such high angles and will scram (emergency shutdown). —

Kyle Mizokami, Popular Mechanics, 4 Jan. 2022 As of now, one man sits on a small dock off each island, telling onlookers to scram. —

Danielle Paquette, Washington Post, 12 Dec. 2019 When Fleck makes a young boy on the bus laugh with his goofy faces, he’s immediately met with a threat from the boy’s mother to cut it out and scram. —

David Betancourt, Washington Post, 28 Aug. 2019 In three seasons with the Pacers (before Donnie Walsh ditched him after Indiana brought back Larry Bird) and two more with the Knicks (before Walsh, again, told him to scram), Thomas has a 187-223 record (.456). —

Kirkland Crawford, Detroit Free Press, 8 May 2018

Noun

Friends met up there to just hang out, untroubled by the usual kind of buy-and-scram sales staff. —

Los Angeles Times, 17 July 2022 But initially, safety protocols kicked in; called a scram, the protocols led to control rods being inserted into the reactors to shut down the nuclear reactions and bring the plant to a halt. —

John Timmer, Ars Technica, 5 Oct. 2018 The quake itself caused the operating reactors to scram (shut down) as they were designed to do. —

Andrew Karam, Popular Mechanics, 11 Mar. 2016 Stay in the customs union and single market — or scram? —

William Booth, Washington Post, 21 Sep. 2017 The nukes, as people who work in such plants are called, refer to the sudden shutdown of fission as a scram. —

Washington Post, 30 May 2017 See More

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'scram.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.