scrum
Americannoun
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scrums
plural
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a rugby play in which three members of each team line up opposite one another with a group of two and a group of three players behind them: the ball is then rolled between the opposing front lines and players attempt to kick the ball backward to a teammate.
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a project management method often used in agile development, centering around a small team with a schedule of short, fixed-length work cycles, each of which is used to complete some chunk of a complex or ongoing project.
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a place or situation of confusion and racket; hubbub.
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a chaotic, rushed attempt by multiple reporters to question one or more politicians, celebrities, etc..
The minister always left meetings through a back door to avoid the daily scrum.
verb (used without object)
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scrums,
present (3rd person singular)
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scrummed,
past participle, past
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scrumming
present participle
noun
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rugby the act or method of restarting play after an infringement when the two opposing packs of forwards group together with heads down and arms interlocked and push to gain ground while the scrum half throws the ball in and the hookers attempt to scoop it out to their own team. A scrum is usually called by the referee ( set scrum ) but may be formed spontaneously ( loose scrum )
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informal a disorderly struggle
verb
Other Word Forms
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
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scrumsimple
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scrumssimple
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have scrummedperfect
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has scrummedperfect
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am scrummingprogressive
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are scrummingprogressive
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is scrummingprogressive
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have been scrummingperfect progressive
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has been scrummingperfect progressive
Past
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scrummedsimple
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had scrummedperfect
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was scrummingprogressive
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were scrummingprogressive
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had been scrummingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of scrum
First recorded in 1885–90; short for scrummage
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
See Examples For:
Kolbe forced a five-metre scrum, before which Erasmus brought on two of his strongest scrummagers in Malcolm Marx and Ox Nche, who immediately won a penalty.
From BBC ● Aug. 29, 2026
“Eric Sondheimer,” he quickly answered to a scrum full of quizzical looks.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 23, 2026
After the Oval Office scrum, an X account run by the White House, called Rapid Response 47, twice posted about Holmes’ question about Ossoff.
From Slate ● Aug. 18, 2026
Nothing made that clearer than an incident in June during a game between the Fever and the Phoenix Mercury, when Clark found herself in a three-player scrum for the ball.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 13, 2026
“You need to wear a scrum cap when you go to bed, too, Winger?”
From "Winger" by Andrew Smith
Keith Jeffries, who was the federal security director for TSA at LAX when the private terminal opened, called it a “tremendous” security asset because celebrities can avoid chaotic scrums of fans and paparazzi.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 31, 2026
At Pentagon briefings and White House media scrums since the war started, officials have openly complained about headlines and pushed for alternative frames.
From Salon ● Mar. 17, 2026
Lawmakers have cycled through classified briefings, TV interviews and hallway scrums with reporters, but have taken little formal action related to Trump’s war efforts — just two unsuccessful votes aimed at limiting the conflict.
From Los Angeles Times ● Mar. 15, 2026
"To say it was stop-start is an understatement with all the carry on with the cards, the stoppages for the scrums etc," said the 50-year-old Englishman.
From Barron's ● Nov. 22, 2025
Up and down between the goal line and the twenty-five the two scrums fought.
From The Loom of Youth by Alec Waugh
"We were disappointed in the summer, we got scrummed and we don’t like being scrummed," George told BBC 5 Live.
From BBC ● Oct. 31, 2024
As Richard Nixon limbered up for the ceremonial toss, every player on the Yankees and Senators scrummed in front of his first base box, jockeying to catch the ball.
From Washington Times ● Mar. 25, 2020
Aides and relatives scrummed around Huckabee; the only child present was Sarah, then thirteen.
From The New Yorker ● Sep. 17, 2018
Mr. Zazo scrummed together with a couple of hundred other club members who formed the circular base of the tower, or castell.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Dec. 12, 2013
All day long its devotees "scrummed" and "shoved" for the coveted trophies.
From The Siege of Kimberley by T. Phelan
Hookers Brits, Mbonambi and Marx were key drivers in training to set the scrumming standards in 2019, with number eight Duane Vermeulen also playing a big role.
From BBC ● Nov. 13, 2024
If the chanting, scrumming crowd that swarmed the weigh-in Friday was any measure, boxing has the right label on this one.
From Los Angeles Times ● Nov. 21, 2015
BST15:49 37 mins “Overhead cam shows England’s loosehead scrumming sideways and absolutely destroyed on every packdown,” reckons Mike Mnichowicz.
From The Guardian ● Sep. 18, 2015
After a few seconds of scrumming, two officials ran over to the pile, glanced at each other, and took a stab: one guy held up the sign for a touchback, ruling it an interception.
From Time ● Sep. 25, 2012
Of course," said Caruth, after scrumming practice one night, "it's awfully good for us.
From Years of Plenty by Ivor Brown
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
