scrum
Americannoun
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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)
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
Conjugated Forms
Present
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have scrummedperfect
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has scrummedperfect 3rd person singular
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is scrummingprogressive 3rd person singular
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are scrummingprogressive
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have been scrummingperfect progressive
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scrumssingular 3rd person
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has been scrummingperfect progressive 3rd person singular
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am scrummingprogressive 1st person singular
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scrummingparticiple
Past
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had scrummedperfect
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were scrummingprogressive plural
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scrummedparticiple
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scrummedsimple
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was scrummingprogressive singular
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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.
Their pressure eventually told as the Tigers' pack crushed Exeter in a scrum allowing Cracknell to score after they had done well to turn the ball over within 10 metres of the visitors' line.
From BBC • May 31, 2026
In recent decades, so-called scrum teams—cross-functional groups focused on deploying and iterating quickly—have replaced a slower, step-by-step engineering methodology known as “waterfall.”
From The Wall Street Journal • May 18, 2026
A scrum of reporters with cameras met Gamble at the courthouse doors as she left.
From Slate • May 4, 2026
"I was adamant that there was a red scrum out lurking in the background that was going to bring me down," said Chessum.
From BBC • Mar. 17, 2026
I had got no further when I heard the scrum of shoes upon the floorboards of the kitchen.
From "The Astonishing Life of Octavian Nothing, Traitor to the Nation, Volume II: The Kingdom on the Waves" by M.T. Anderson
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.
