1
as in climbing
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 fumbling
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 scrabbling
He’s blessed with a tense, scrabbling physicality on screen, plus a baby-Brando glower beneath a head of striking blond curls, and Nemes directs him into a stance of braced, vulnerable defensiveness that serves the film’s purposes well — even if his character, too, wants for interior light.
—
Guy Lodge, Variety, 28 Aug. 2025
Her left hand is scrabbling over the surface of the thin soil, grasping at dead leaves, something to wipe herself.
—Literary Hub, 28 Aug. 2025
The young Canadian couple are recent transplants to the French capital, having logged a decade as content creators, performance artists and DJs fond of zombie makeup and body dysphoria, slowly scrabbling their way onto the international fashion scene.
—Miles Socha, Footwear News, 3 Sep. 2019
Guy Lodge, Variety, 28 Aug. 2025
Her left hand is scrabbling over the surface of the thin soil, grasping at dead leaves, something to wipe herself.
—Literary Hub, 28 Aug. 2025
The young Canadian couple are recent transplants to the French capital, having logged a decade as content creators, performance artists and DJs fond of zombie makeup and body dysphoria, slowly scrabbling their way onto the international fashion scene.
—Miles Socha, Footwear News, 3 Sep. 2019
Recent Examples of Synonyms for scrabbling
Verb
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The market has become a competition of numbers, THC percentages climbing like stock tickers, potency sold as prestige.—
Jahan Marcu,
Rolling Stone,
23 Oct. 2025
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They’re made with durable aluminum alloy and have cork and foam hand grips to keep you comfortable while climbing.—
Anna Fiorentino,
Travel + Leisure,
23 Oct. 2025
Verb
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Gaines got some redemption with his TD after fumbling on a third-and-goal run in the first quarter.—
Jim Keyser,
Idaho Statesman,
25 Oct. 2025
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However, his key mistakes included an interception, being sacked six times, and fumbling the ball away twice.—
Matthew Couden,
MSNBC Newsweek,
14 Oct. 2025
Verb
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Millions of Americans who rely on the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) could be left scrambling for food come November if the government shutdown continues.—
Melina Khan,
USA Today,
22 Oct. 2025
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The Broncos defense mostly kept him from scrambling out of the pocket.—
Ryan Gaydos,
FOXNews.com,
20 Oct. 2025
Verb
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The Dodgers are looking to become baseball's first back-to-back champions in a quarter-century, as the Blue Jays hope to win their first World Series title since 1993.—
Gabe Smallson,
MSNBC Newsweek,
25 Oct. 2025
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This Panasonic point-and-shoot digital camera is an easy-to-use starter option for anyone looking to up their picture game and not have to worry about draining their phone battery throughout the day or having to empty their storage space to take more vacation photos.—
Kristin Braswell,
Travel + Leisure,
25 Oct. 2025
Verb
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The piece is a collection of disused shoemaker boxes, once used by cobblers to keep tools, pressed against each other and stacked up, clambering toward the ceiling.—
Edna Bonhomme,
Artforum,
1 Oct. 2025
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By the end of the night, so many fans had crowd-surfed from the pit to the stage, clambering onto the platform, that the band members were barely visible.—
Audrey Gibbs,
Nashville Tennessean,
16 Sep. 2025
Verb
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According to the New York Times, the Category 5 hurricane is expected to make landfall later today, Tuesday, October 28, with authorities warning of torrential rain, severe flooding and storm surges reaching up to 13 feet along the island’s southern coast.—
Georgina Jedikovska,
Interesting Engineering,
28 Oct. 2025
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This was a momentous development for child-care proponents such as myself, who have long argued that wide-reaching free programs are crucial for parents and for a healthy democracy.—
Elliot Haspel,
The Atlantic,
28 Oct. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Scrabbling.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/scrabbling. Accessed 29 Oct. 2025.
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