scrabble
verb (used with object)
to scratch or scrape, as with the claws or hands.
scrabble
1 American
[skrab-uhl]
/ ˈskræb əl /
verb (used with object)
-
scrabbles,
present (3rd person singular)
-
scrabbled,
past participle, past
-
scrabbling
present participle
-
to scratch or scrape, as with the claws or hands.
-
to grapple or struggle with or as if with the claws or hands.
-
to scrawl; scribble.
verb (used without object)
-
scrabbles,
present (3rd person singular)
-
scrabbled,
past participle, past
-
scrabbling
present participle
-
to scratch or dig frantically with the hands; claw (often followed byat ).
scrabbling at a locked door to escape the flames.
-
to jostle or struggle for possession of something; grab or collect something in a disorderly way; scramble.
noun
-
scrabbles
plural
-
a scratching or scraping, as with the claws or hands.
-
a scrawled or scribbled writing.
-
a disorderly struggle for possession of something; scramble.
After the fumble, there was a scrabble for the football.
Scrabble
2
American
[skrab-uhl]
/ ˈskræb əl /
Trademark.
scrabble
1
British
/ ˈskræbəl /
verb
-
(intr; often foll by about or at) to scrape (at) or grope (for), as with hands or claws
-
to struggle (with)
-
to struggle to gain possession, esp in a disorderly manner
-
to scribble
noun
-
the act or an instance of scrabbling
-
a scribble
-
a disorderly struggle
Scrabble
2
British
/ ˈskræbəl /
noun
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
-
scrabblesimple
-
scrabblessimple
-
have scrabbledperfect
-
has scrabbledperfect
-
am scrabblingprogressive
-
are scrabblingprogressive
-
is scrabblingprogressive
-
have been scrabblingperfect progressive
-
has been scrabblingperfect progressive
Past
-
scrabbledsimple
-
had scrabbledperfect
-
was scrabblingprogressive
-
were scrabblingprogressive
-
had been scrabblingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of scrabble
1530–40; < Dutch schrabbelen to scratch, frequentative of schrabben to scrape
Explanation
To scrabble is to grasp or grope. If you lose your footing while rock climbing, you'll scrabble around with your fingers for a ledge to hang onto. The verb scrabble means to scratch or grab with your hands, the way you might search for something in a dark room or clutch at something frantically as you drop it. Scrabble also describes an animal's movements, like the sound of a squirrel that scrabbles, or scurries, out of your garbage can. Scrabble is also the name of a board game that involves making words out of letter tiles. Scrabble comes from the Dutch schrabben, "to scratch."
Vocabulary lists containing scrabble
Fahrenheit 451
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"A Sound of Thunder" by Ray Bradbury
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The Hobbit
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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:
Bruno Fernandes, perhaps the only United player to have done himself justice this season, pulled one back from the penalty spot after Casemiro was kicked during a frantic scrabble.
From BBC ● Apr. 17, 2025
It might not be up to John Cena standards, but she’s clearly figured at least a few things out along her scrabble to undeniable stardom.
From Los Angeles Times ● May 13, 2024
Don’t just rely on your phone’s memory; you might not be the one making the phone call and it saves time not to have to scrabble around.
From Seattle Times ● Dec. 20, 2023
Like my parents and many others I knew in the South Bronx, they scrabble to hang on and perhaps wonder if anyone sees or hears their distress.
From Salon ● Jul. 9, 2023
The monkey would scrabble around, trying to escape, and the sergeant would say, “OKAY, I GOT HIM. HE’S PINNED.”
From "The Hot Zone" by Richard Preston
An ode to the ecstasy of Scrabble: Do you love hearing someone talk about something they’re really passionate about and know very well, in great intimate detail?
From Slate ● Aug. 14, 2026
I will not walk on a beach with you, but I will play Scrabble.
From Los Angeles Times ● Apr. 17, 2026
PAWTUCKET, R.I.—The maker of Candyland, Monopoly and Scrabble has a new board game on its hands.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jan. 1, 2026
And he is fond of the original Scrabble - his European parents are "big fans of the game: when they first started dating, they used it to teach each other English", he explains.
From BBC ● Apr. 13, 2024
He said that as if playing Scrabble were as fun as going bike riding or something.
From "Kira-Kira" by Cynthia Kadohata
After the game, City manager Pep Guardiola admitted he is still trying to find "balance" in his squad while talismanic striker Erling Haaland scrabbles for form.
From BBC ● Mar. 14, 2026
She scrabbles to find her reason for being.
From Washington Post ● Jan. 30, 2023
So Pluto is doubly fitting for the doppelgänger who ascended from underground and scrabbles around on all fours.
From Slate ● Mar. 24, 2019
As his wife scrabbles with angry protesters and gripes about her compromised marriage, he is sequestered in the bathroom, represented only by a mordant song that his aide-de-camp sings on his behalf:
From The New Yorker ● May 9, 2016
Arf, arf, arf— Zola scrabbles up a handful of acorns and tosses them over the side of the balcony.
From "The Unfinished Angel" by Sharon Creech
As she scrabbled for a laser pointer in her large handbag, her coloratura was comically on point, though she was inaudible in her middle range during the cabaletta.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 1, 2025
"I had no idea how long it would take the officers to get there, so we scrabbled about for things to talk about," the 39-year-old says.
From BBC ● Nov. 18, 2022
Some people tried to lock the beasts out as they scrabbled at the door.
From Washington Post ● May 26, 2021
He scrabbled with all four paws, found some purchase, and scarpered up the slope and away.
From Slate ● Jan. 30, 2021
Frantically he scrabbled about, trying to find a way out.
From "Ralph S. Mouse" by Beverly Cleary
Imagine combat choreographed by ants, swarms of elbows and legs scrabbling to emerge victorious.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 11, 2026
Europe’s scrabbling together of funds to put into the pot is important here.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Dec. 30, 2025
The change meant the UK had to "build out" relationships with allies around the world but also invest in the UK's own economy, Jones said, denying ministers were "scrabbling" for solutions.
From BBC ● Apr. 6, 2025
This is, though, where much of Europe has been for some time: scrabbling around for scraps from the Premier League’s table.
From New York Times ● Feb. 2, 2024
There he knelt and began scrabbling with one hand in the soft dirt.
From "Schooled" by Gordon Korman
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.
