scrum

noun

ˈskrəm How to pronounce scrum (audio)
Definition of scrumnext
1
as in throng
a great number of persons or creatures massed together I had to fight my way through the scrum of holiday shoppers at the mall

Synonyms & Similar Words

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2
as in skirmish
a physical dispute between opposing individuals or groups when the server spilled a drink on a customer, they got into a bit of a scrum before being separated

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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
3
as in bedlam
British a place of uproar or confusion London's tube is quite a scrum during rush hour

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Antonyms & Near Antonyms

Example Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of scrum Despite conceding five scrum penalties, Canada's defense forced constant errors by world champion England in front of 13,117 spectators. — ABC News, 24 Oct. 2026 Outside the venue, the four of them walk up to the gates, where a scrum of press awaits them, and Hal begins to make a statement. — Sophie Brookover, Vulture, 17 Oct. 2026 With the scrum around him on pit road, Christopher Bell couldn’t quite put his disappointment into words. — Charlotte Observer, 12 Oct. 2026 Williams expressed a similar position during a May 19 media scrum, before clip resurfaced and spread widely in August. — Jackson Thompson Outkick, FOXNews.com, 11 Oct. 2026 See All Example Sentences for scrum
Recent Examples of Synonyms for scrum
  1. throng
  2. skirmish
  3. bedlam
  4. crowd
  5. clash
  6. madhouse
  7. swarm
  8. battle
Noun
  • For now, and despite planned protests, the Louvre remains open, and visitors can try to catch a glimpse of the Mona Lisa in the good company of other Da Vinci paintings and throngs of selfie-wielding tourists.
    — Devorah Lauter, ARTnews.com, 9 Nov. 2026
  • Under cloudy, windy skies, throngs of people lined Leo’s motorcade route along Montevideo’s waterfront, with huge crowds cheering as his open-sided popemobile brought him into town for his first events.
    — Nicole Winfield, Los Angeles Times, 6 Nov. 2026
Definition of throng
Noun
  • After a bloody skirmish with the orcs and wild men, an imposing figure arrives on horseback, grabbing one of the warriors and hurling him at Galadriel’s approaching horse.
    — Emily Zemler, Los Angeles Times, 5 Nov. 2026
  • Golden State Warriors star Draymond Green was involved in a skirmish on Monday night.
    — Ryan Gaydos OutKick, FOXNews.com, 3 Nov. 2026
Definition of skirmish
Noun
  • There wasn’t quite as much Phillies bedlam in Georgia on Wednesday.
    — Jayson Stark, New York Times, 1 Oct. 2026
  • But this is preposterous, this is insanity, this is the very essence of bedlam.
    — J. B. MacKinnon, Harpers Magazine, 22 Sep. 2026
Definition of bedlam
Noun
  • At lunchtime and in the evenings, its covered gravel patio with 13 tables draws a full crowd of parents with young kids and a few older folks, most of whom Donner has gotten to know quite well.
    — Heidi Finley, Charlotte Observer, 11 Nov. 2026
  • Three people were killed and others were injured when a minivan hit a crowd of street vendors and pedestrians in North Hollywood on Tuesday evening, authorities said.
    — Iris Kwok, Los Angeles Times, 11 Nov. 2026
Definition of crowd
Noun
  • Ahead of Leo’s arrival in Argentina, the first by a pope in nearly 40 years, Milei’s officials had dismissed the prospect of a political clash.
    — Isabel Debre, Los Angeles Times, 9 Nov. 2026
  • That has to leave a bad taste in their mouth entering this week’s clash.
    — Scott Chasen, Kansas City Star, 8 Nov. 2026
Definition of clash
Noun
  • Great art can emerge from a garden cottage in Massachusetts or a madhouse in the South of France and find its audience generations later.
    — Adam Gopnik, New Yorker, 26 Oct. 2026
  • Whereas this evening in the Spanish Gothic madhouse of the United Theater, most every song from Melanie’s Hadean pageant is received with near word-perfect communalism.
    — Matt Thompson, SPIN, 13 July 2026
Definition of madhouse
Noun
  • On Friday evening, swarms of Dolly Parton lookalikes took over the East Village for The Frankie Shop and Unemployed’s fourth annual Halloween bash.
    — Simone Cook, Vogue, 1 Nov. 2026
  • The Southern and Northern Taurids are part of the broader Taurid Meteoroid Complex, a vast swarm of interplanetary dust, rocks, comets and asteroids thought to be related to Encke.
    — Jamie Carter, Space.com, 30 Oct. 2026
Definition of swarm
Noun
  • The letter was shared as Haitian police and foreign forces continue to battle gangs, with Haitian Prime Minister Alix Didier Fils-Aimé announcing on X late Friday that a gang leader was killed, without identifying him.
    — Arkansas Online, Arkansas Online, 8 Nov. 2026
  • The attention surfaced new accusations of misconduct against sitting members and thrust a spotlight onto others that were part of ongoing legal battles.
    — Anna Liss-Roy, Washington Post, 7 Nov. 2026
Definition of battle

Browse Nearby Words

scruffy
scrum
scrumptious
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Cite this Entry

“Scrum.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/scrum. Accessed 13 Nov. 2026.

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