1
as in climbed
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
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2
as in fumbled
to search for something blindly or uncertainly
he frantically scrabbled through the storage chest looking for the needed documents
Synonyms & Similar Words
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Recent Examples of scrabbled
The Eagles have scrabbled at multiple offensive schemes while leveraging the strength of their defense.
—
Brooks Kubena, New York Times, 9 Jan. 2026
Brooks Kubena, New York Times, 9 Jan. 2026
Recent Examples of Synonyms for scrabbled
Verb
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Earlier in the day, Brent had climbed above $114 a barrel.—
Helen Regan,
CNN Money,
23 Mar. 2026
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Online travel booking site Booking Holdings rose nearly 2%, short-term rental platform Airbnb climbed almost 3% and hotel chains Hyatt Hotels , Marriott International and Hilton Worldwide Holdings added around 3%.—
Scott Schnipper,
CNBC,
23 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
Verb
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Picture Alliance | Picture Alliance | Getty Images Countries around the world have scrambled to cope with the fallout of the energy shock from the Iran war, imposing measures from fuel export bans, loosening refining standards, and even getting workers to climb stairs instead of taking elevators.—
Lim Hui Jie,Sawdah Bhaimiya,
CNBC,
15 Mar. 2026
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The surprise victory scrambled the Oscar race at the last minute, giving last-minute momentum to Coogler's commercial and critical smash.—
Daniel Arkin,
NBC news,
15 Mar. 2026
Verb
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Washington recorded a respectable 20 reps on the bench press and also looked extremely quick during the 40-yard dash.—
Darin Oswald,
Idaho Statesman,
25 Mar. 2026
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From masks to serums, balms, tints and exfoliators, lips have never felt or looked so good.—
ABC News,
ABC News,
24 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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At another point, a ranger waded through the mud of a mangrove forest and clambered into a mangrove to catch a bird for a blood sample, before doing the same trek in reverse to put it back.—
Luis Melecio-Zambrano,
Mercury News,
18 Jan. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Scrabbled.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/scrabbled. Accessed 26 Mar. 2026.
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