as in struggle
a forceful effort to reach a goal or objective
it'll be a long scrabble to pull ourselves out of poverty
Synonyms & Similar Words
Relevance
1
as in to climb
to move (as up or over something) often with the help of the hands in holding or pulling
we scrabbled up a sand dune to get a better view of the sea
Synonyms & Similar Words
2
as in to fumble
to search for something blindly or uncertainly
he frantically scrabbled through the storage chest looking for the needed documents
Synonyms & Similar Words
Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of scrabble
Oluwatosin Adeshokan, Quartz Africa, 8 Nov. 2019
Across the street from her, a kinetic scrabble of orange and blue runs the height of a five-story brick building like an electric charge.
—Globe Staff, BostonGlobe.com, 27 July 2019
Max Goldbart, Deadline, 26 Nov. 2025
Lawrence also finds a naivete to Grace’s agony: After scrabbling so hard at the walls that her fingertips bleed, Grace acts like a wounded child, taken aback by her own strength.
—Shirley Li, The Atlantic, 6 Nov. 2025
See All Example Sentences for scrabble
Noun
In the early 90s, Nigeria’s central government recognized scrabble as a sport.
—Oluwatosin Adeshokan, Quartz Africa, 8 Nov. 2019
Across the street from her, a kinetic scrabble of orange and blue runs the height of a five-story brick building like an electric charge.
—Globe Staff, BostonGlobe.com, 27 July 2019
Verb
This left the ruling Labour Party scrabbling.
—Max Goldbart, Deadline, 26 Nov. 2025
Lawrence also finds a naivete to Grace’s agony: After scrabbling so hard at the walls that her fingertips bleed, Grace acts like a wounded child, taken aback by her own strength.
—Shirley Li, The Atlantic, 6 Nov. 2025
See All Example Sentences for scrabble
Recent Examples of Synonyms for scrabble
Noun
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Now this artist, who is devoted to depicting the Chicano struggle, says removing Chavez from artwork may be the only choice.—
Steve Large,
CBS News,
24 Mar. 2026
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The reality is there wasn’t much in reserve in the middle, with it another struggle for Kel’el Ware.—
Ira Winderman,
Sun Sentinel,
24 Mar. 2026
Verb
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In 2024, Contra Costa County investigators searched a ravine and found the ladder Matthew Muller described using to climb into a family's house weeks after the March 2015 attack on Denise Huskins and Aaron Quinn.—
Lauren Clark,
CBS News,
29 Mar. 2026
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And Friday’s loss pushed the Heat even further away from climbing out of the play-in tournament.—
Anthony Chiang,
Miami Herald,
28 Mar. 2026
Verb
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The lawyer suggested the doctors at the Meadows fumbled Spacey’s treatment because their program was geared toward addiction.—
Nancy Dillon,
Rolling Stone,
19 Mar. 2026
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The Warriors had a chance to send the game to overtime on the final possession of regulation, but Post, who hit four 3s on the night, fumbled the catch and turned the ball over, leaving the Knicks with the ball as the shot clock expired.—
Kristian Winfield,
New York Daily News,
16 Mar. 2026
Noun
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At the time of the initial gun battle, the MacEgans were on an afternoon walk through a nearby field.—
Rosalio Ahumada,
Sacbee.com,
26 Mar. 2026
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So California may be readying to wage a two-front battle — the familiar one against smog, but a second, altogether new one, against an administration determined to let California get smoggy again.—
Patt Morrison,
Los Angeles Times,
26 Mar. 2026
Verb
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Golden ran onto the court as officials scrambled to untangle the scrum before calling technicals on each player and giving Iowa the ball.—
Edgar Thompson,
The Orlando Sentinel,
23 Mar. 2026
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Many missed their flights and scrambled to book later flights or add themselves to standby lists that were already dozens of names long.—
SEUNG MIN KIM,
Arkansas Online,
23 Mar. 2026
Verb
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While that threat is still being assessed, Rutte is also looking closer to the immediate region for the war, specifically the Strait of Hormuz.—
Zach LaChance,
The Washington Examiner,
23 Mar. 2026
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Investigators are looking into what caused a tour bus, traveling from Chicago to a casino in Michigan, to crash, leaving over two dozen people injured in Green Bay, Wisconsin, on Sunday afternoon.—
Jeramie Bizzle,
CBS News,
23 Mar. 2026
Noun
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Internally, Mead Johnson conceded it had been beaten in the fight over fortifiers.—
David Hilzenrath,
USA Today,
29 Mar. 2026
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The risk When Manfred took over as MLB commissioner 11 years ago, baseball had long been surpassed by football as the country’s most popular sport and was in an existential fight to stay relevant to younger fans.—
Andrew Greif,
NBC news,
28 Mar. 2026
Verb
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The smugglers let him aboard, and the boy clambered around hatches that, if opened, would reveal dozens of felonies worth of illicit cargo.—
Jack Crosbie,
Rolling Stone,
17 Mar. 2026
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The film shows places of uncommon beauty, along with the throngs of visitors who clamber to see them and, crucially, preserve their experiences in photos.—
The New Yorker,
New Yorker,
4 Mar. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Scrabble.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/scrabble. Accessed 29 Mar. 2026.
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