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

The eventual winners — Democrat Xavier Becerra and Republican Steve Hilton — only emerged from a large scrum of candidates in the final months of the campaign. — Ben Paviour, Sacbee.com, 24 June 2026

Indiana forward Myisha Hines-Allen jumped into the scrum. — Alejandro Avila Outkick, FOXNews.com, 23 June 2026

Corlys and Lohar find each other in the scrum and both land powerful blows before Corlys is thrown into the sea, leaving Alyn of Hull to finish off his father’s enemy. — Amanda Whiting, Vulture, 22 June 2026

The media scrums around each player reflected their importance, with constant jostling for the right positioning of microphones and cameras. — Shreyas Laddha, Kansas City Star, 22 June 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