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
Example Sentences
Recent Examples of Synonyms for scrabbled
Verb
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The majority of the deportees, however, walked out of the reception center and climbed back onto the same buses that brought them from the airport.—
Daniel Gonzalez,
USA Today,
9 Nov. 2025 -
Pretty cut and dry on the surface, but how Colorado has climbed to the top of the standings might give some people pause about making that statement.—
Corey Masisak,
Denver Post,
8 Nov. 2025
Verb
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Ball security The Hurricanes have fumbled the ball four times in the past two games and lost two of them — one apiece by Malachi Toney (first round against Texas A&M) and Fletcher (quarterfinal against Ohio State).—
Jordan McPherson,
Miami Herald,
7 Jan. 2026
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Kennedy fumbled in his pocket and pulled out his phone, the source of the noise.—
Meredith Kile,
PEOPLE,
7 Jan. 2026
Verb
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Within hours of the reductions going into effect, hundreds of passengers scrambled to book other flights.—
Alysa Guffey,
IndyStar,
7 Nov. 2025
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Organizers insist there will be rooms for all and have scrambled to arrange extra accommodation, including on cruise ships, and are offering extra assistance to the most vulnerable nations.—
Laura Paddison,
CNN Money,
6 Nov. 2025
Verb
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The report, which was first covered by the Washington Post, looked at the top 25 employers in each state that employed the most SNAP and Medicaid recipients.—
Arkansas Online,
Arkansas Online,
6 Nov. 2025
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Ovechkin looked high with his arms raised while drifting toward the boards before turning around to be mobbed by Capitals teammates who had left the bench to celebrate with him.—
Sean Gentille,
New York Times,
6 Nov. 2025
Verb
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Indeed, as some of the dachshund pups clambered onto the bed and got close, the Labrador even looked up toward the camera as if calling in reinforcements for help.—
Alyce Collins,
MSNBC Newsweek,
31 Oct. 2025
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Where a missile had destroyed two multi-storey residential buildings during the night, people clambered over an immense mound of dislocated concrete to pry out victims, footage obtained by Reuters showed.—
Steven Scheer,
USA Today,
16 Sep. 2025
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Cite this Entry
“Scrabbled.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/scrabbled. Accessed 9 Jan. 2026.
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