scamper
Americanverb (used without object)
-
to run or go hastily or quickly.
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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
Where the Red Fern Grows
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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.
A smart kick from Smith switched play to Tom Roebuck, and the Sale wing showed deft footwork to scamper in on the stroke of half-time.
From BBC • Mar. 7, 2026
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
They had more runners scamper across the plate during the regular season than anybody other than the star-studded New York Yankees and Los Angeles Dodgers.
From The Wall Street Journal • Oct. 14, 2025
From the resulting penalty, the French would make the extra player count when Escudero had the space to scamper over for her side's first try of the game.
From BBC • Sep. 14, 2025
It was a different castle to the one in which King Arthur used to scamper.
From "The Once and Future King" by T. H. White
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.
