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

• throng
• crowd
• swarm
• flock
• horde
• mob

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

As the scrum of people moved on the field, Vrabel was momentarily knocked down in the process. —Paulina Dedaj, FOXNews.com, 15 Aug. 2025

Ange Postecoglou, his predecessor, did not care about dead-ball situations and compared them to a scrum in rugby, but PSG could not cope with what Tottenham mustered from them last night. —Jay Harris, New York Times, 14 Aug. 2025

Trump said during a scrum with reporters on Sunday. —Gil Kaufman, Billboard, 5 Aug. 2025

Clark had been shoved and grabbed all night, and had done a little shoving herself; much of it had escaped the censure of the refs, which set the scene for the scrums that followed. —Louisa Thomas, New Yorker, 22 June 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