Adjacent Words

Scramble definitions

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Webster's 1828 Dictionary

SCRAM'BLE, v.i. [It is not improbably that this word is corrupted from the root of scrape, scrabble.]
1. To move or climb by seizing objects with the hand, and drawing the body forward; as, to scramble up a cliff.
2. To seize or catch eagerly at any thing that is desired; to catch with haste preventive of another; to catch at without ceremony. Man originally was obliged to scramble with wild beasts for nuts and acorns.
Of other care they little reck'ning make, than how to scramble at the shearer's feast.
SCRAM'BLE, n.
1. An eager contest for something, in which one endeavors to get the thing before another.
The scarcity of money enhances the price and increases the scramble.
2. The act of climbing by the help of the hands.

WordNet (r) 3.0 (2005)

n
1: an unceremonious and disorganized struggle [syn: scramble, scuffle]
2: rushing about hastily in an undignified way [syn: scamper, scramble, scurry] v
1: to move hurriedly; "The friend scrambled after them"
2: climb awkwardly, as if by scrambling [syn: clamber, scramble, shin, shinny, skin, struggle, sputter]
3: bring into random order [syn: scramble, jumble, throw together]
4: stir vigorously; "beat the egg whites"; "beat the cream" [syn: beat, scramble]
5: make unintelligible; "scramble the message so that nobody can understand it" [ant: unscramble]

Merriam Webster's

I. verb (scrambled; scrambling) Etymology: perhaps alteration of ¹scrabble Date: 1568 intransitive verb 1. a. to move with urgency or panic b. to move or climb hastily on all fours 2. a. to struggle eagerly or unceremoniously for possession of something <scramble for front seats> b. to get or gather something with difficulty or in irregular ways <scramble for a living> 3. to spread or grow irregularly ; sprawl, straggle 4. to take off quickly in response to an alert 5. of a football quarterback to run with the ball after the pass protection breaks down transitive verb 1. to collect by scrambling 2. a. to toss or mix together ; jumble b. to prepare (eggs) by stirring during frying 3. to cause or order (a fighter-interceptor group) to scramble 4. to disarrange the elements of a transmission (as a telephone or television signal) in order to make unintelligible to interception • scrambler noun II. noun Date: 1648 1. the act or an instance of scrambling 2. a disordered mass ; jumble <a…scramble of patterns and textures — Vogue> 3. a rapid emergency takeoff of fighter-interceptor planes

Oxford Reference Dictionary

v. & n. --v. 1 intr. make one's way over rough ground, rocks, etc., by clambering, crawling, etc. 2 intr. (foll. by for, at) struggle with competitors (for a thing or share of it). 3 intr. move with difficulty, hastily, or anxiously. 4 tr. a mix together indiscriminately. b jumble or muddle. 5 tr. cook (eggs) by heating them when broken and well mixed with butter, milk, etc. 6 tr. change the speech frequency of (a broadcast transmission or telephone conversation) so as to make it unintelligible without a corresponding decoding device. 7 intr. move hastily. 8 tr. colloq. execute (an action etc.) awkwardly and inefficiently. 9 intr. (of fighter aircraft or their pilots) take off quickly in an emergency or for action. --n. 1 an act of scrambling. 2 a difficult climb or walk. 3 (foll. by for) an eager struggle or competition. 4 Brit. a motor-cycle race over rough ground. 5 an emergency take-off by fighter aircraft. Phrases and idioms: scrambled egg colloq. gold braid on a military officer's cap. Etymology: 16th c. (imit.): cf. dial. synonyms scamble, cramble

Webster's 1913 Dictionary

Scramble Scram"ble, v. t. 1. To collect by scrambling; as, to scramble up wealth. --Marlowe. 2. To prepare (eggs) as a dish for the table, by stirring the yolks and whites together while cooking.

Webster's 1913 Dictionary

Scramble Scram"ble, v. i. [imp. & p. p. Scrambled; p. pr. & vb. n. Scrambling.] [Freq. of Prov. E. scramb to rake together with the hands, or of scramp to snatch at. cf. Scrabble.] 1. To clamber with hands and knees; to scrabble; as, to scramble up a cliff; to scramble over the rocks. 2. To struggle eagerly with others for something thrown upon the ground; to go down upon all fours to seize something; to catch rudely at what is desired. Of other care they little reckoning make, Than how to scramble at the shearer's feast. --Milton.

Webster's 1913 Dictionary

Scramble Scram"ble, n. 1. The act of scrambling, climbing on all fours, or clambering. 2. The act of jostling and pushing for something desired; eager and unceremonious struggle for what is thrown or held out; as, a scramble for office. Scarcity [of money] enhances its price, and increases the scramble. --Locke.

Collin's Cobuild Dictionary

(scrambles, scrambling, scrambled) 1. If you scramble over rocks or up a hill, you move quickly over them or up it using your hands to help you. Tourists were scrambling over the rocks looking for the perfect camera angle... = clamber VERB: V prep/adv 2. If you scramble to a different place or position, you move there in a hurried, awkward way. Ann threw back the covers and scrambled out of bed... VERB: V prep/adv 3. If a number of people scramble for something, they compete energetically with each other for it. More than three million fans are expected to scramble for tickets... Business is booming and foreigners are scrambling to invest. VERB: V for n, V to-inf • Scramble is also a noun. ...a scramble to get a seat on the early morning flight. N-COUNT: usu sing, oft N for n, N to-inf 4. If you scramble eggs, you break them, mix them together and then heat and stir the mixture in a pan. Make the toast and scramble the eggs. VERB: V n • scrambled ...scrambled eggs and bacon. ADJ: usu ADJ n 5. If a device scrambles a radio or telephone message, it interferes with the sound so that the message can only be understood by someone with special equipment. The latest machines scramble the messages so that the conversation cannot easily be intercepted. VERB: V n

Soule's Dictionary of English Synonyms

I. v. n. 1. Struggle (as in climbing), scrabble. 2. Struggle, strive. 3. Climb (with difficulty), clamber. II. n. Struggle, contest, scrabble.

Moby Thesaurus

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