1
as in climbing
to move (as up or over something) often with the help of the hands in holding or pulling
the toddler scrambled up the stairs
Synonyms & Similar Words
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2
as in disrupting
to undo the proper order or arrangement of
scrambled the letters of the word
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of scrambling
Having activities lined up ahead of time means parents aren’t scrambling for ideas in the moment — a strategy that benefits the whole family.
—
Miami Herald, 9 Mar. 2026
Video shows protesters and police officers scrambling to get away from where the device landed.
—Karina Tsui, CNN Money, 9 Mar. 2026
Within minutes, gunfire erupted outside, sending people scrambling for cover and leaving the crowd caught in one of the worst mass shootings in Austin in decades.
—Emiliano Tahui Gómez, Austin American Statesman, 8 Mar. 2026
In the wake of Friday’s abysmal jobs report , investors are scrambling to understand whether the loss of 92,000 jobs in February was a blip or a foretelling of more payroll cuts to come as t he adoption of AI by corporations increases .
—Zev Fima, CNBC, 8 Mar. 2026
Video of the shooting, posted on social media, shows attendees scrambling to get out of the bar as gunfire erupts.
—Nate Gartrell, Mercury News, 8 Mar. 2026
There’s also a chance that holiday or spring break fliers are not as familiar with the TSA rules, which can create a bottleneck of flustered passengers scrambling to take out their laptops right at the conveyor belt.
—Iona Brannon, Travel + Leisure, 7 Mar. 2026
Shipping through the Strait of Hormuz — a critical chokepoint for global oil and gas flows — remains at a near-total halt and energy exporters are scrambling for routes out of the region.
—Arsalan Shahla, Fortune, 7 Mar. 2026
His closing saves out of greenside bunkers left him 14 of 17 in scrambling.
—Edgar Thompson, The Orlando Sentinel, 7 Mar. 2026
Miami Herald, 9 Mar. 2026
Video shows protesters and police officers scrambling to get away from where the device landed.
—Karina Tsui, CNN Money, 9 Mar. 2026
Within minutes, gunfire erupted outside, sending people scrambling for cover and leaving the crowd caught in one of the worst mass shootings in Austin in decades.
—Emiliano Tahui Gómez, Austin American Statesman, 8 Mar. 2026
In the wake of Friday’s abysmal jobs report , investors are scrambling to understand whether the loss of 92,000 jobs in February was a blip or a foretelling of more payroll cuts to come as t he adoption of AI by corporations increases .
—Zev Fima, CNBC, 8 Mar. 2026
Video of the shooting, posted on social media, shows attendees scrambling to get out of the bar as gunfire erupts.
—Nate Gartrell, Mercury News, 8 Mar. 2026
There’s also a chance that holiday or spring break fliers are not as familiar with the TSA rules, which can create a bottleneck of flustered passengers scrambling to take out their laptops right at the conveyor belt.
—Iona Brannon, Travel + Leisure, 7 Mar. 2026
Shipping through the Strait of Hormuz — a critical chokepoint for global oil and gas flows — remains at a near-total halt and energy exporters are scrambling for routes out of the region.
—Arsalan Shahla, Fortune, 7 Mar. 2026
His closing saves out of greenside bunkers left him 14 of 17 in scrambling.
—Edgar Thompson, The Orlando Sentinel, 7 Mar. 2026
Recent Examples of Synonyms for scrambling
Verb
-
At first, authorities believed the teenager may have left her home voluntarily after climbing out of her bedroom window during the night.—
Isabella Wandermurem,
Time,
6 Mar. 2026
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Trails range from short 3-mile walks to 40-plus-mile backcountry treks, climbing from 5,000 to 13,000 feet of elevation, with forest paths, stone steps, and thach (alpine pasture) camps.—
Alexandra Gillespie,
Outside,
6 Mar. 2026
Verb
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The beams would be far brighter than the full moon and, even if carefully pointed, would scatter in the atmosphere to be very bright off-beam, disrupting wildlife and effectively destroying the sky’s remaining natural beauty by erasing the stars from our sight.—
Phil Plait,
Scientific American,
6 Mar. 2026
-
Then, last summer, LA became the first major US city to face large-scale ICE raids, stoking fear among undocumented immigrants and disrupting the restaurant workforce.—
Emily Wilson,
Bon Appetit Magazine,
6 Mar. 2026
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
-
The shuffling sound quickened and the puzzlers’ hands sped up.—
Lia Picard,
AJC.com,
2 Mar. 2026
-
Some line shuffling by Warsofsky worked.—
Curtis Pashelka,
Mercury News,
2 Mar. 2026
Verb
-
But the notice sent last spring was so vague and confusing that few people used it to object.—
U T Editorial Board,
San Diego Union-Tribune,
7 Mar. 2026
-
The company’s messaging has been confusing and has at various points seemed to contradict its own previous statements, as well as information from the government.—
Matteo Wong,
The Atlantic,
7 Mar. 2026
Verb
-
Shuttle buses often pause to allow passengers to observe animals without disturbing them.—
Karthika Gupta,
Travel + Leisure,
7 Mar. 2026
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According to investigators, multiple officers were called to the gas station after reports of an intoxicated man who was disturbing customers.—
Dan Raby,
CBS News,
6 Mar. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Scrambling.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/scrambling. Accessed 12 Mar. 2026.
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