scramble
verb (used without object)
to climb or move quickly using one's hands and feet, as down a rough incline.
scrambling
-
present participleof scramble.present participle
A verb form that is used in progressive verb constructions and may also function as a modifier or a gerund.
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.
Residents are believed to have exited and entered their homes via openings in their ceilings, and to have traversed the city by scrambling across their neighbors’ roofs.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 14, 2026
He continued: "With its traditional covert footprint eviscerated by almost 1,000 expulsions since the invasion, the Kremlin's global toolkit is weak. So we see them scrambling to pay criminals to do their bidding."
From BBC ● Oct. 13, 2026
“Broke, hopeless, searching, frightened,” he says now, “I was absolutely the perfect recruit. They promised me the tools to succeed. When you’re 21, 22 and you’re scrambling to succeed, that’s very appealing.”
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 13, 2026
Slate’s Nitish Pahwa talked to psychologist and MIT professor Sherry Turkle about how “modern technology is scrambling our ability to live in the real world”—and what we can do about it.
From Slate ● Sep. 30, 2026
The ship wandered from island to island—there were about eighteen in all—and Darwin ventured ashore, scrambling through the pumice, collecting birds, plants, and lizards.
From "The Gene" by Siddhartha Mukherjee
