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
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
3
as in bedlam
British
a place of uproar or confusion
London's tube is quite a scrum during rush hour
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of scrum
Soler was tackled to the ground by Braves manager Walt Weiss before any major damage was done and López was forced out of the scrum.
—
Ryan Gaydos, FOXNews.com, 8 Apr. 2026
Near midfield, defender Sergi Palencia freed the ball from a scrum of Cruz Azul players.
—Josh Gross, Daily News, 8 Apr. 2026
Afterward, in his hallway scrum with mostly local reporters, Auriemma settled down and was more himself, more reasonable.
—Dom Amore, Hartford Courant, 4 Apr. 2026
The defenseman was injured March 22 in a scrum versus the Nashville Predators.
—Kalen Lumpkins, Chicago Tribune, 31 Mar. 2026
See All Example Sentences for scrum
Ryan Gaydos, FOXNews.com, 8 Apr. 2026
Near midfield, defender Sergi Palencia freed the ball from a scrum of Cruz Azul players.
—Josh Gross, Daily News, 8 Apr. 2026
Afterward, in his hallway scrum with mostly local reporters, Auriemma settled down and was more himself, more reasonable.
—Dom Amore, Hartford Courant, 4 Apr. 2026
The defenseman was injured March 22 in a scrum versus the Nashville Predators.
—Kalen Lumpkins, Chicago Tribune, 31 Mar. 2026
See All Example Sentences for scrum
Recent Examples of Synonyms for scrum
Noun
-
For another hour after his speech, his sixth that day, Magyar smiled for photos with members of the throng.—
Kapil Komireddi,
New Yorker,
10 Apr. 2026
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Behind yet another standout performance from Elliot Cadeau, who was named the Final Four’s most outstanding player, the Wolverines weathered a UConn run in the first half that had the massive throng of maize-and-blue fans in Indianapolis feeling nervous.—
Kyle Feldscher,
CNN Money,
7 Apr. 2026
Noun
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With no end to the larger skirmish in sight, fears persist that the shipment of medical supplies could remain at risk.—
Justin Klawans,
TheWeek,
9 Apr. 2026
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The early skirmishes certainly appeared that way.—
Josh Gross,
Daily News,
8 Apr. 2026
Noun
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At the end of Saturday night’s game, Kennard did what he had been acquired to do, the reason the Lakers call him off the bench, draining a 3-pointer with 0.6 seconds left, sending the bench into bedlam and giving the Lakers (46-25) a 105-104 victory over the Orlando Magic (38-32).—
Benjamin Royer,
Oc Register,
22 Mar. 2026
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Bogle is able to cross into the box, where the two strikers are again creating bedlam for the centre-backs.—
Beren Cross,
New York Times,
20 Mar. 2026
Noun
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Look for premium vertical programming to become a bigger part of people’s media diet, too, and look to leverage that, the expert also suggested to the Lisbon crowd.—
Georg Szalai,
HollywoodReporter,
13 Apr. 2026
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Péter Magyar, a former official in Orbán’s party, became an ascendant opposition candidate, drawing unprecedented crowds at rallies across the country and eventually leading in most polls.—
Andrew Marantz,
New Yorker,
13 Apr. 2026
Noun
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All three judges scored it 98-92 for the 29-year-old Briton, who sustained cuts over both eyes from head clashes.—
ABC News,
ABC News,
11 Apr. 2026
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And the clash of ideologies must now be balanced on the backs of many hardworking people trying to keep their children out of institutional care and on the Medicaid providers that support them.—
DP Opinion,
Denver Post,
10 Apr. 2026
Noun
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In practice, this means a madhouse of multimedia rooms, packed with gurgling videos and useless machines and humanoid bodies.—
Zachary Fine,
New Yorker,
31 Mar. 2026
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Given her reputation and TikTok-famous opener Ella Langley, the badge line was a madhouse.—
Deborah Sengupta Stith,
Austin American Statesman,
17 Mar. 2026
Noun
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The swarm of Gulfstreams, Phenoms and Challengers is straining Augusta Regional Airport.—
Robert Frank,
CNBC,
10 Apr. 2026
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The power of drone swarms on battlefields has been witnessed in multiple wars to date.—
Abhishek Bhardwaj,
Interesting Engineering,
9 Apr. 2026
Noun
-
The Navy has 16 warships — 11 destroyers, three amphibious assault ships, an aircraft carrier and a littoral combat ship — in the Middle East out of a battle force of roughly 300 total warships.—
Konstantin Toropin,
Chicago Tribune,
17 Apr. 2026
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The Navy has 16 warships — 11 destroyers, three amphibious assault ships, an aircraft carrier, and a littoral combat ship — in the Middle East out of a battle force of roughly 300 total warships.—
Konstantin Toropin,
Los Angeles Times,
16 Apr. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Scrum.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/scrum. Accessed 18 Apr. 2026.
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