scrabble
verb (used with object)
to scratch or scrape, as with the claws or hands.
scrabbling
-
present participleof scrabble.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.
Europe’s scrabbling together of funds to put into the pot is important here.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Dec. 30, 2025
And, with the security of Europe under greater strain than at any time almost in living memory, can its leaders, who are currently scrabbling around, find an adequate response?
From BBC ● Mar. 25, 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
When few other animals are out and about, wolverines are scrabbling up frozen slopes with their crampon-like claws and crunching through frozen bones of carrion dug out of snow.
From Seattle Times ● Nov. 29, 2023
She clambered out of the hole and up onto the cant of the upper deck, scrabbling along until she found hatch access.
From "Ship Breaker" by Paolo Bacigalupi
