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

Lehkonen scored the first while behind the goalie, down on his knees in the blue paint during a chaotic scrum of bodies. —Corey Masisak, Denver Post, 7 Feb. 2026

No questions offered in that one-on-one scrum. —Joe Davidson, Sacbee.com, 3 Feb. 2026

In the second period, with the Lightning down three goals, Bruins goaltender Jeremy Swayman challenged Lightning star Andrei Vasilevskiy as both teams were breaking out into a scrum anyway. —Ryan Gaydos, FOXNews.com, 2 Feb. 2026

The project could require you to take on several different positions such as project manager, program manager, scrum leader, architect, requirements analyst, designer, and user experience lead. —IEEE Spectrum, 30 Jan. 2026

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