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 of scrum

• 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 this new breed of college sports FOIAer has entered the scrum, one of the practice’s standard-bearers bid farewell, at least for now. —Daniel Libit, Sportico.com, 17 Dec. 2025

Saunders made contact with an official who was trying to break up the scrum. —Ryan Gaydos, FOXNews.com, 15 Dec. 2025

At one point, eight different skaters were either in the blue paint around Blackwood or within a stick’s length of the scrum. —Corey Masisak, Denver Post, 5 Dec. 2025

More big media scrums, for one thing, especially in tense times. —Jonas Siegel, New York Times, 2 Dec. 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