scurry
Americanverb (used without object)
-
scurries,
present (3rd person singular)
-
scurried,
past participle, past
-
scurrying
present participle
verb (used with object)
-
scurries,
present (3rd person singular)
-
scurried,
past participle, past
-
scurrying
present participle
noun
-
scurries
plural
-
a scurrying rush.
the scurry of little feet on the stairs.
-
a short run or race.
verb
-
to move about or proceed hurriedly
-
(intr) to whirl about
noun
-
the act or sound of scurrying
-
a brisk light whirling movement, as of snow
-
horse racing a short race or sprint
Other Word Forms
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
-
scurrysimple
-
scurriessimple
-
have scurriedperfect
-
has scurriedperfect
-
am scurryingprogressive
-
are scurryingprogressive
-
is scurryingprogressive
-
have been scurryingperfect progressive
-
has been scurryingperfect progressive
Past
-
scurriedsimple
-
had scurriedperfect
-
was scurryingprogressive
-
were scurryingprogressive
-
had been scurryingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of scurry
First recorded in 1800–10; extracted from hurry-scurry
Explanation
Scurry means to move quickly, at a frenzied pace, and often also implies the urge to hide. When you come upon a mouse in your house, chances are it will scurry away. Think of scurry this way — anytime you describe someone as scurrying, you're comparing them to a mouse. When you say troops scurried back behind their defensive lines, you're insulting them. When you say children scurry around searching for eggs during an Easter egg hunt, you think they're cute.
Vocabulary lists containing scurry
100 Words Every Middle Schooler Should Know
Looking to grow your vocabulary? Check out this interactive, curated word list from our team of English language specialists at Vocabulary.com – one of over 17,000 lists we've built to help learners worldwide!
Unit 1: Telling Details
Interested in learning more words like this one? Our team at Vocabulary.com has got you covered! You can review flashcards, quiz yourself, practice spelling, and more – and it's all completely free to use!
100 Great Words from "Fahrenheit 451" -- Part I Vocabulary
Want to remember this word for good? Start your learning journey today with our library of interactive, themed word lists built by the experts at Vocabulary.com – we'll help you make the most of your study time!
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:
Life moves pretty fast when your heart beats 1,200 times a minute, and the plot of “The Shrew Detective” moves briskly as Minerva and Tenacity scurry between clues.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 12, 2026
When the bruin returned, it was met with tiny shocks from an electrified mat, which made him scurry away.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jan. 13, 2026
Once one side has been effectively tagged with responsibility, they’ll scurry for a way out.
From Slate ● Oct. 1, 2025
The home side were the happier to scurry to the dressing room.
From BBC ● Aug. 3, 2025
The water butterflies who’ve ventured off to observe us scurry back to their flock.
From "The Last Cuentista" by Donna Barba Higuera
A few minutes' walk from the Citizens Advice office, Shania is sitting at the edge of a park feeding her newborn baby, while her older child, a toddler, scurries nearby.
From BBC ● May 4, 2026
But despite this convincing show, Romy is merely faking it, a detail we learn moments later when she scurries off to the privacy of her office.
From Salon ● Dec. 23, 2024
After exchanging words with a curiously hostile waiter, the Collector scurries down a shadowy Chandleresque mean street before taking a fatal turn into a nightmarish alley.
From New York Times ● Feb. 22, 2024
When the pedestrian signal flashes a red hand, the squad bursts into laughter and scurries to the sidewalk.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 29, 2023
The knob on the RV door turns, and Scoob scurries into the bathroom and pulls the door shut.
From "Clean Getaway" by Nic Stone
With Game 3 of the World Series underway at Dodger Stadium last October, a few folks scurried across a pedestrian bridge with LED lights and blue glow sticks.
From Los Angeles Times ● Mar. 25, 2026
Other local residents scurried to take cover in basements.
From Barron's ● Mar. 16, 2026
Greenlandic staff scurried briskly into the building, looking ashamed to be working for America.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jan. 24, 2026
Trilobites scurried across the seafloor among dense clusters of shelled mollusks.
From Science Daily ● Jan. 11, 2026
In fact, the way she scurried from shadow to shadow reminded Max of how he’d moved the night before.
From "The School for Whatnots" by Margaret Peterson Haddix
It sends a few scurrying for help, meanwhile, and leaves others vulnerable because they don’t know there’s anything they can do to prevent this from happening.
From MarketWatch ● Aug. 25, 2026
When the possessive and paranoid Frank Ford runs into Margaret as she’s scurrying to meet his wife, Alice, he pointedly remarks, “I think, if your husbands were dead, you two would marry.”
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 23, 2026
Index providers—the firms that compile market averages like the S&P 500, the Nasdaq 100, the Russell 1000 and so on—have been scurrying to accommodate these titanic deals.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 2, 2026
Flames and smoke erupted from a luxury hotel on Dubai's Palm, the landmark, palm tree-shaped development of land reclaimed from the sea, after a loud bang sent passers-by scurrying for cover.
From Barron's ● Feb. 28, 2026
The sharp pine needles poked at Ophie’s bare feet, filling the night air with their clean scent, and something small and scurrying ran across the path in front of them, but Ophie barely noticed.
From "Ophie's Ghosts" by Justina Ireland
Random Word
Spin the wheel and learn a new word!
Get a wordDefinitions 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.
