scrum

noun

ˈskrəm 

1

a

or scrummage

ˈskrə-mij 

: a rugby play in which the forwards of each side come together in a tight formation and struggle to gain possession of the ball using their feet when it is tossed in among them

also : the arrangement of players in a scrum

b

: a usually brief and disorderly struggle or fight : scrape, scuffle

2

a

British : madhouse sense 2

b

: a usually tightly packed or disorderly crowd : throng

scrummage intransitive verb

Synonyms

• army
• bike [chiefly Scottish]
• cram
• crowd
• crush
• drove
• flock
• herd
• horde
• host
• legion
• mass
• mob
• multitude
• press
• rout
• swarm
• throng

Examples of scrum in a Sentence

I had to fight my way through the scrum of holiday shoppers at the mall.

when the server spilled a drink on a customer, they got into a bit of a scrum before being separated

Recent Examples on the Web

The dung heap is being dismantled by a scrum of hermit crabs. —Kevin Gepford, Smithsonian Magazine, 15 Apr. 2025

The bus would then dump its passengers at the Port Authority Bus Terminal, where a fresh scrum of Eighth Avenue muggers and drug addicts was lying in wait. —Frank Rich, Vulture, 8 Apr. 2025

Image But as print magazines were supplanted as tastemakers by a chaotic online scrum, celebrity became more subjective. —Annie Aguiar, New York Times, 28 Mar. 2025

Less than a minute into the ensuing power play, the Ducks racked up 14 penalty minutes during a scrum near the boards. —Andrew Knoll, Oc Register, 27 Mar. 2025

Word History

Etymology

short for scrummage, alteration of scrimmage

First Known Use

1848, in the meaning defined at sense 1a

Rhymes for scrum

• bum
• chum
• come
• crum
• cum
• drum
• dum
• dumb
• from
• frum
• glum
• gum