scramble

CEFRB2

/ˈskɹæmbl̩/

verb

Türkçe translations

Translating…

In plain English

  1. 01

    verb

    To move quickly and awkwardly, often using hands and feet.

  2. 02

    verb

    To mix things together in a confused way.

Examples

  • The scramble for Africa was the last wave of colonialism.

  • I scrambled some eggs with spinach and cheese.

At a glance

Sits at B2 on the CEFR scale

Senses
5
Parts of speech
1
Citations
5
Synonyms
2

Deep Dive

verb

Extra meanings

  1. To proceed to a location or an objective in a disorderly manner.

  2. To thoroughly combine and cook as a loose mass.

  3. To move hurriedly to a location, especially by using all limbs against a surface.

More examples

In context

  • a last-minute scramble to the finish line

  • We had to scramble.

  • Near-synonym: hash

Synonyms

Quick test

Two questions on this entry. Nothing is scored.

Question 1 · Quick check

The frightened hikers will blank up the steep hill to escape the rising flood.

Practise this properly in the app, where the word comes back before you forget it.

Nearby

Origin

verb

Origin uncertain. Perhaps from earlier dialectal scramble, scrammel (“to collect or rake together with the hands”), from scramb (“to pull or scrape together with the hands”) + -le (frequentative suffix) (compare Dutch schrammen (“to graze, brush, scratch”)); or alternatively from a nasalised form of scrabble (“to scrape or scratch quickly”).