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
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of scrum
Chaos ensued two minutes later when Beck Malenstyn ran over Dobes, setting off a massive scrum and sending the Canadiens on a power play.
—
ABC News, 10 May 2026
No awkward scrums with the media grilling him about a slump Saturday morning ahead of Game 3 of this second-round Stanley Cup Playoffs series against the Minnesota Wild at Grand Casino Arena.
—Corey Masisak, Denver Post, 9 May 2026
Raman was the only candidate to participate in the post-debate media scrum, speaking extensively with reporters after Bass and Pratt departed shortly after the event.
—Teresa Liu, Daily News, 8 May 2026
The scrum for the last two available slots is going to be interesting.
—Joe Reid, Vulture, 2 May 2026
See All Example Sentences for scrum
ABC News, 10 May 2026
No awkward scrums with the media grilling him about a slump Saturday morning ahead of Game 3 of this second-round Stanley Cup Playoffs series against the Minnesota Wild at Grand Casino Arena.
—Corey Masisak, Denver Post, 9 May 2026
Raman was the only candidate to participate in the post-debate media scrum, speaking extensively with reporters after Bass and Pratt departed shortly after the event.
—Teresa Liu, Daily News, 8 May 2026
The scrum for the last two available slots is going to be interesting.
—Joe Reid, Vulture, 2 May 2026
See All Example Sentences for scrum
Recent Examples of Synonyms for scrum
Noun
-
Walking among this throng of floating color balls is surreal and well worth the drive.—
Shauna Farnell,
Denver Post,
25 May 2026
-
The attacks came as public officials and lawmakers have been planning to deal with throngs of visitors for the World Cup, which is slated to start next month with seven matches in Foxborough at Gillette Stadium.—
Joe Battenfeld,
Boston Herald,
23 May 2026
Noun
-
Inconspicuous blows against Denver escalated to skirmishes.—
Joel Lorenzi,
New York Times,
31 May 2026
-
Meanwhile, the religious right profited handsomely from the skirmish.—
Isaac Butler,
New Yorker,
30 May 2026
Noun
-
The Montreal Canadiens can book their ticket to the Eastern Conference final Saturday night in what will be absolute bedlam in that arena after taking care of business on the road yet again.—
Arpon Basu,
New York Times,
15 May 2026
-
Now, by neither embracing that bedlam nor banning it outright, the action gets stuck in limbo.—
Dave Quinn,
PEOPLE,
24 Apr. 2026
Noun
-
Marquee continues to draw big DJs and bottle-service crowds, giving in-house partiers a straightforward, elevator-ride-away nightlife option.—
Condé Nast,
Condé Nast Traveler,
2 June 2026
-
Curry has traveled to China seven times with the most recent tour to Chongqing last August, and each visit has drawn massive, frenzied crowds.—
John Liu,
CNN Money,
2 June 2026
Noun
-
With simple syrup the clash of the liqueurs is too sharp, the flavor equivalent of swords clanging together.—
Jason O'Bryan,
Robb Report,
30 May 2026
-
The ruling is the latest high-profile clash between Williams and Republican officials.—
Milena Malaver,
Miami Herald,
30 May 2026
Noun
-
Headphones are often my saving grace in this madhouse.—
Juhi Wadia,
PC Magazine,
17 Apr. 2026
-
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
Noun
-
Even advanced swarms often depend on stable communications and relatively simple coordination logic.—
Christopher McFadden,
Interesting Engineering,
30 May 2026
-
Its journey is bringing it closer to both the middle of that swarm and some of the other individual galaxies in the cluster.—
Adam Kovac,
Scientific American,
30 May 2026
Noun
-
On May 18, two armed teenagers entered the Islamic Center of San Diego, killing an armed security guard in a gun battle, then fatally shooting two men cornered in the parking lot, police said.—
Teri Figueroa,
San Diego Union-Tribune,
29 May 2026
-
Staal made it 2-0 a minute and change later by winning a big boy net-front battle with Josh Anderson to pound in his second of the playoffs and continue his line’s dominance over the Canadiens.—
Arpon Basu,
New York Times,
28 May 2026
Cite this Entry
“Scrum.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/scrum. Accessed 4 Jun. 2026.
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