scramble

1 of 2

verb

scram·​ble ˈskram-bəl 

scrambled; scrambling ˈskram-b(ə-)liŋ 

intransitive verb

1

a

: to move with urgency or panic

scrambled to his feet

b

: to move or climb hastily especially on all fours

scramble over rocks

2

a

: to struggle eagerly or unceremoniously for possession of something

scramble for front seats

players scrambling for the ball

b

: to get or gather something with difficulty or in irregular ways

scramble for a living

3

: to spread or grow irregularly : sprawl, straggle

4

of an interceptor fighter aircraft : to take off quickly in response to an alert

5

of a football quarterback : to run with the ball after the pass protection breaks down

transitive verb

1

: to collect or put together hastily

scramble up a dinner for unexpected guests

2

a

: to toss or mix together in confusion : to throw into disorder : jumble

Bad weather often scrambles the train schedules.

scrambled the pages of the manuscript

b

: to prepare (eggs) by stirring during frying

scramble some eggs for breakfast

3

: to cause or order (interceptor fighter aircraft) to take off quickly

Keating said he ordered the fighters to be scrambled immediately after seeing information about the crash on television.

—Lolita C. Baldor

4

: to disarrange the elements of a transmission (such as a telephone or television signal) in order to make unintelligible to interception

scrambler

ˈskram-b(ə-)lər 

noun

scramble

2 of 2

noun

1

: the act or an instance of scrambling: such as

a

: the act of moving or climbing over something quickly especially on all fours

a scramble over the boulders

b

: a jostling and pushing for possession

a scramble for the ball

c

: an eager and unceremonious or unscrupulous struggle

a scramble for power

d

: a rapid emergency takeoff of interceptor fighter aircraft

e

football : a play in which the quarterback runs with the ball while being chased by defensive players after the pass protection breaks down

He gained 10 yards on the scramble.

2

: a disordered mass : jumble

a … scramble of patterns and textures

—Vogue

3

golf : a team competition in which all the members of a team tee off on each hole, one of the tee shots is selected, all members hit shots from the position of the selected shot, one shot is again selected, and the process is continued until the hole is completed

Sawgrass seemed a far cry from the first competitive golf event I ever played in, a weekend scramble at my local club.

—David Owen

Synonyms

Verb

• clamber
• climb
• scrabble
• swarm

Noun

• agglomerate
• agglomeration
• alphabet soup
• assortment
• botch
• clutter
• collage
• crazy quilt
• farrago
• gallimaufry
• grab bag
• gumbo
• hash
• hodgepodge
• hotchpotch
• jambalaya
• jumble
• jungle
• litter
• macédoine
• medley
• mélange
• menagerie
• miscellanea
• miscellany
• mishmash
• mixed bag
• montage
• motley
• muddle
• olio
• olla podrida
• omnium-gatherum
• pastiche
• patchwork
• patchwork quilt
• potpourri
• ragbag
• ragout
• rummage
• salad
• salmagundi
• shuffle
• smorgasbord
• stew
• tumble
• variety
• welter

Examples of scramble in a Sentence

Verb

We scrambled over the boulders and kept climbing up the mountain.

He scrambled up the ramp.

reporters scrambling to finish stories by deadline

Both players scrambled for the ball.

News of the factory closing found workers scrambling to find jobs.

It started to rain, and we all scrambled for cover.

I'll scramble some eggs for breakfast.

Noun

a quick scramble over boulders

the scramble for power in the country

a scramble for the ball

There was a mad scramble to fill vacant positions at the school.

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Recent Examples on the Web

Verb

Survivors are scrambling for food, water and medicine. —Susannah George, Washington Post, 26 Nov. 2023

Chicago officials are scrambling to find shelter for more than 2,000 migrants, plus long-term housing for thousands more already crammed into overcrowded shelters. —Josh Feldman, NBC News, 26 Nov. 2023

The solution for almost every problem In 2007, the studio was scrambling to finish its first movie, Iron Man, before the WGA prohibited its members from contributing any further work. —Joanna Robinson, Fortune, 24 Nov. 2023

Novo Nordisk plans to invest more than 16 billion Danish crowns ($2.34 billion) to boost production of its weight-loss drugs at a site in Chartres, France, scrambling to keep up with soaring demand. —Reuters, Fortune Europe, 23 Nov. 2023

Those clients will need to know that Microsoft’s vital code can’t be scrambled by a Silicon Valley soap opera. —David Marino-Nachison, WSJ, 20 Nov. 2023

OpenAI is now scrambling to reset its own experiment in designing corporate governance resilient to both superintelligent AI and ordinary human squabbles. —WIRED, 19 Nov. 2023

The high cost of rent has become a pressing issue for the city’s political leaders, who are scrambling to find ways to keep their constituents from slipping into homelessness. —Dorany Pineda, Los Angeles Times, 18 Nov. 2023

With shows scrambling to get back up and running now that both strikes are settled, a number of series are being pushed to later dates. —Joe Otterson, Variety, 15 Nov. 2023

Noun

The Olympic truce, rooted in the traditions of ancient Greece and reimagined three decades ago for the modern Games, has become as much a part of the ritual prelude to the events as the lighting of the torch and the scramble for hotel rooms. —Andrew Keh, New York Times, 23 Nov. 2023

The Grammy winner and longtime golf fan took part in a special celebrity four-hole scramble at the El Cardonal, which was designed by his friend and golf champion Tiger Woods. —Nicole Acosta, Peoplemag, 10 Nov. 2023

The industry is now engaged in a mad scramble to get movies finished for next year’s summer blockbuster season, and to get TV series up and running before the winter and new year holiday break hits in December. —J. Kim Murphy, Variety, 10 Nov. 2023

The tragedy of the situation for medical professionals like Hart is that the shortages are preventable because they were not prompted by the kind of unforeseen events—like COVID lockdowns or natural disasters—which led to a similar scramble for semiconductor chips two years ago. —Bychristiaan Hetzner, Fortune, 28 Oct. 2023

Sophomore quarterback Ayden Lester scored on a 38-yard scramble when he was chased out of the pocket on the first Cardinal drive of the third quarter and the second half rout was on. —Nwa Democrat-Gazette, Arkansas Online, 8 Oct. 2023

The last-minute scramble reflects the collision of two of Biden's chief goals: countering China and marching in lockstep with labor unions. —Jeff Stein and Tyler Pager The Washington Post, arkansasonline.com, 13 Nov. 2023

The last-minute scramble reflects the collision of two of Biden’s chief goals: countering China and marching in lockstep with labor unions. —Tyler Pager, Washington Post, 12 Nov. 2023

Video footage captured the sound of a blast that shook the sprawling medical complex, setting off a scramble among people sheltering there. —Stacy Meichtry, WSJ, 10 Nov. 2023

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Word History

Etymology

Verb

perhaps alteration of scrabble entry 1

First Known Use

Verb

1568, in the meaning defined at intransitive sense 1a

Noun

1648, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Kids Definition

scramble

1 of 2 verb

scram·​ble ˈskram-bəl 

scrambled; scrambling -b(ə-)liŋ 

1

a

: to move with urgency or panic

b

: to move or climb hastily on all fours

2

: to strive or struggle for something

scramble for front seats

3

a

: to toss or mix together : jumble

b

: to cook the mixed whites and yolks of eggs by stirring them while frying

scrambler

-b(ə-)lər 

noun

scramble

2 of 2 noun

1

: a scrambling movement

2

: a disordered mess