scamper
Americanverb (used without object)
-
to run or go hastily or quickly.
-
to run playfully about, as a child.
noun
verb
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to run about playfully
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(often foll by through) to hurry quickly through (a place, task, book, etc)
noun
Other Word Forms
- scamperer noun
Etymology
Origin of scamper
Explanation
To scamper is to move in a hurry. You and your friends might scamper to catch the bus, or your kitten might scamper to catch a mouse. The verb scamper describes something that's moving in disorderly haste, often out of fear or excitement. You might notice that chipmunks scamper the instant your dog goes outside. You can also use scamper as a noun, when you talk about your death-defying scamper across town in an effort to be on time for your first day of work. Scamper was a very popular word in the late 1800s.
Vocabulary lists containing scamper
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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.
Thought and feeling bubble up beneath visible restraint—she’ll let a nervous glance scamper this way or that, or wear a smile that’s still crimped at the edges amid the teasing interplay of her peers.
From The Wall Street Journal • Dec. 4, 2025
Crawford scamper across the plate with the winning run.
From The Wall Street Journal • Oct. 11, 2025
A mammoth fourth game saw seven deuces and Maria saving two break points for 3-1, before a brilliant scamper to a drop shot in the next allowed her to go a double break up.
From BBC • Jun. 15, 2025
Two minutes later he picked his moment in attack perfectly too, timing his run off Tom Curry's shoulder to scamper in.
From BBC • Mar. 9, 2025
Mercifully, a beep rang out from above, allowing me to scamper off to biology class.
From "Turtles All the Way Down" by John Green
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.
