as in scurrying
to proceed or move quickly
mice scuttling across the barn floor to escape the cats
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of scuttling
Maya Singer, Vogue, 8 Apr. 2026
Paramount cliched its $31-a-share in cash merger for WBD on February 27, scuttling Warner’s previous agreement with Netflix.
—Jill Goldsmith, Deadline, 7 Apr. 2026
Passengers were abandoning them, like rats scuttling off a sinking ship, and people stood on the sidewalks, looking at their phones, or looking at the city, frowning, desperate.
—Catherine Lacey, New Yorker, 5 Apr. 2026
They're carried around by giant mechanical spiders, sometimes seen scuttling through the bowels of Jabba's Palace.
—Richard Edwards, Space.com, 2 Apr. 2026
Artificial reefs, created by scuttling ships, sinking oil rigs, or dropping rubble into the sea, have long been known to improve aquatic life, so perhaps these findings are unsurprising.
—Tom Chivers, semafor.com, 19 Dec. 2025
Pro tip Tack on a night at the Balmoral prior to the trip to avoid any travel snafus scuttling your voyage, and perhaps a few more on the back end to allow proper time to reacclimate.
—Jake Emen, Robb Report, 18 Dec. 2025
And speaking of funny, though the show is full of heavy hitters, scuttling between characters in the wings is its true secret weapon, Ikechukwu Ufomadu.
—Sara Holdren, Vulture, 17 Dec. 2025
Another clip shows the robot scuttling across the floor, both impressive and disconcerting, prompting reactions ranging from awe to genuine unease.
—Jijo Malayil, Interesting Engineering, 5 Dec. 2025
Verb
Downstairs, a styling session for the fall 2026 collection; up here, on the fourth floor, almost every inch of space is taken by patternmakers, bolts of fabric, designers scuttling about, and racks and more racks of clothes.
—Maya Singer, Vogue, 8 Apr. 2026
Paramount cliched its $31-a-share in cash merger for WBD on February 27, scuttling Warner’s previous agreement with Netflix.
—Jill Goldsmith, Deadline, 7 Apr. 2026
Passengers were abandoning them, like rats scuttling off a sinking ship, and people stood on the sidewalks, looking at their phones, or looking at the city, frowning, desperate.
—Catherine Lacey, New Yorker, 5 Apr. 2026
They're carried around by giant mechanical spiders, sometimes seen scuttling through the bowels of Jabba's Palace.
—Richard Edwards, Space.com, 2 Apr. 2026
Artificial reefs, created by scuttling ships, sinking oil rigs, or dropping rubble into the sea, have long been known to improve aquatic life, so perhaps these findings are unsurprising.
—Tom Chivers, semafor.com, 19 Dec. 2025
Pro tip Tack on a night at the Balmoral prior to the trip to avoid any travel snafus scuttling your voyage, and perhaps a few more on the back end to allow proper time to reacclimate.
—Jake Emen, Robb Report, 18 Dec. 2025
And speaking of funny, though the show is full of heavy hitters, scuttling between characters in the wings is its true secret weapon, Ikechukwu Ufomadu.
—Sara Holdren, Vulture, 17 Dec. 2025
Another clip shows the robot scuttling across the floor, both impressive and disconcerting, prompting reactions ranging from awe to genuine unease.
—Jijo Malayil, Interesting Engineering, 5 Dec. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for scuttling
Noun
-
At least, there was a lot less wrecking.—
Alex Zietlow,
Charlotte Observer,
13 Feb. 2026
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The Ravens haven’t really had that game-wrecking pass rusher since Terrell Suggs was in his prime.—
The Athletic NFL Staff,
New York Times,
9 Jan. 2026
Verb
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An over-excited group of fans celebrated the two saves by breaking a pane of glass behind the Kings bench, sending the coaches scurrying and pausing the game for several minutes as workmen repaired the damage.—
Los Angeles Times,
Los Angeles Times,
22 Apr. 2026
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The effect was to send much of the congregation scurrying out to buy the record.—
Virginia Chamlee,
PEOPLE,
18 Apr. 2026
Verb
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No point hurrying toward a resolution that was always receding.—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
1 Apr. 2026
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Instead of hurrying to break up tents and scatter RVs, Lee and Oakland’s interim homelessness chief Sasha Hauswald want city workers to focus on minimizing trash and human waste around encampments.—
Grant Stringer,
Mercury News,
15 Feb. 2026
Verb
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His friends can be seen rushing to him and carrying his body away.—
Zeena Saifi,
CNN Money,
22 Apr. 2026
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And after spending all that money on Jaelan Phillips and picking two edge rushers in their first three picks in 2025, choosing another pass-rushing linebacker like Mesidor in the first round doesn’t make sense to me.—
Scott Fowler,
Charlotte Observer,
21 Apr. 2026
Verb
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Having conceded twice in a losing effort last weekend at Portland for their first blemish of the year, LAFC met up with an Earthquakes (7-1-0, 21 points) team that was flying high under sporting director and head coach Bruce Arena.—
Josh Gross,
Daily News,
20 Apr. 2026
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The Bruins teammates didn’t pack any of their belongings before flying to New York to attend the draft, but after another cross-country flight home to Los Angeles, the pair had barely 24 hours to put their entire lives in boxes before heading back to the East Coast to join the Connecticut Sun.—
Emily Adams,
Hartford Courant,
20 Apr. 2026
Verb
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By evening, disruptive Uranus enters your 3rd House of Communication, speeding up conversations, decisions, and movement.—
Tarot.com,
New York Daily News,
25 Apr. 2026
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Last December, he was arrested and charged with suspicion of DWI, speeding and failing to properly affix his license plate.—
Matt Moret,
New York Times,
25 Apr. 2026
Verb
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Policymakers are racing into the next classroom fad before reckoning with the damage from the last one.—
Catherine Thorbecke,
Boston Herald,
18 Apr. 2026
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Defending women's wheelchair champion Susannah Scaroni is expecting a baby in August and not racing.—
ABC News,
ABC News,
18 Apr. 2026
Verb
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After the match, Chelsea captain Reece James made a point of pushing McFarlane towards the travelling support to receive his congratulations.—
Cerys Jones,
New York Times,
25 Apr. 2026
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Roughly 55% of people traveling along the avenue are doing so on a bus, city data says.—
Evan Simko-Bednarski,
New York Daily News,
24 Apr. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Scuttling.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/scuttling. Accessed 27 Apr. 2026.
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