scramble

American  

[skram-buhl] / ˈskræm bəl /

verb (used without object)

• scrambles,
  present (3rd person singular)
• scrambled,
  past participle,  past
• scrambling
  present participle

1. to climb or move quickly using one's hands and feet, as down a rough incline.

2. to compete or struggle with others for possession or gain.

   The children scrambled for the coins we tossed.

3. to move hastily and with urgency.

   She scrambled into her coat and ran out the door.

4. Military. (of pilots or aircraft) to take off as quickly as possible to intercept enemy planes.

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verb (used with object)

• scrambles,
  present (3rd person singular)
• scrambled,
  past participle,  past
• scrambling
  present participle

1. to collect or organize (things) in a hurried or disorderly manner (often followed by together orup ).

   He scrambled the papers up from the desk. I scrambled the report together at the last minute.

2. to mix together confusedly.

   The teacher has hopelessly scrambled our names and faces.

3. to cause to move hastily, as if in panic.

   He scrambled everyone out of the burning building.

4. to cook (eggs) in a pan while stirring, usually after mixing whites and yolks together.

5. to make (a radio or telephonic message) incomprehensible to interceptors by systematically changing the transmission frequencies.

6. to mix the elements of (a television signal) so that only subscribers with a decoding box can receive the signal.

7. Military. to cause (an intercepting aircraft or pilot) to take off in the shortest possible time, in response to an alert.

noun

• scrambles
  plural

1. a quick climb or progression over rough, irregular ground.

2. a struggle for possession or gain.

   a scramble for choice seats in the stadium.

3. any disorderly or hasty struggle or proceeding.

4. Military. an emergency takeoff of interceptors performed in the shortest possible time.

scramble British  

/ ˈskræmbəl /

verb

1. (intr) to climb or crawl, esp by using the hands to aid movement

2. (intr) to proceed hurriedly or in a disorderly fashion

3. to compete with others, esp in a disordered manner

   to scramble for a prize

4. to deal with hurriedly and unsystematically

5. (tr) to throw together in a haphazard manner; jumble

6. (tr) to collect in a hurried or disorganized manner

7. (tr) to cook (eggs that have been whisked up with milk and seasoning) in a pan containing a little melted butter

8. military to order (a crew or aircraft) to take off immediately or (of a crew or aircraft) to take off immediately

9. (tr) to render (speech) unintelligible during transmission by means of an electronic scrambler

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noun

1. the act of scrambling

2. a climb over rocks that involves the use of the hands but not ropes, etc

3. a disorderly struggle, esp to gain possession

4. military an immediate preparation for action, as of crew, aircraft, etc

5. a motorcycle rally in which competitors race across rough open ground

Other Word Forms

Inflected Forms

Nouns

• scrambles
  plural

Participles

• scrambling
  present
• scrambled
  past

Conjugated Forms

Present

• scramble
  simple
• scrambles
  simple
• have scrambled
  perfect
• has scrambled
  perfect
• am scrambling
  progressive
• are scrambling
  progressive
• is scrambling
  progressive
• have been scrambling
  perfect progressive
• has been scrambling
  perfect progressive

Past

• scrambled
  simple
• had scrambled
  perfect
• was scrambling
  progressive
• were scrambling
  progressive
• had been scrambling
  perfect progressive

Future

• will scramble
  simple
• will have scrambled
  perfect
• will be scrambling
  progressive
• will have been scrambling
  perfect progressive

Etymology

Origin of scramble

1580–90; blend of dial. scamble to stumble along, and scrabble (in the same sense)

Explanation

To scramble is to move quickly in a disorganized fashion, like people running to get out of the rain. When you scramble a message, it can no longer be read. Have you ever run somewhere, in a hurry, with no regard for how you looked? Then you scrambled. Quarterbacks scramble when they need to escape defenders trying to clobber them. A scramble is not graceful; people scramble when they want to get somewhere fast. Also, scrambling refers to altering a message so others can't read it. Putting a message into code is a type of scrambling. Scrambled messages are like scrambled eggs: all mixed up.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

scramble scrambles scrambled scrambling

The indignity and grime of poverty, the constant close proximity, the competitive scramble for decreasing amounts of writing time made them hunker defensively.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 1, 2026

The league, which denied the claim, was forced to scramble to salvage games.

From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 1, 2026

At 11pm each night, the village switches off its lights, plunging Hanle into darkness as visitors scramble to photograph the now-brilliant galaxy.

From BBC ● Sep. 26, 2026

On Wednesday Poland also said a Russian military helicopter briefly violated its airspace, forcing it to scramble fighter jets.

From BBC ● Sep. 24, 2026

We scramble down a dark stairway, smashed within a mass of terrified people.

From "The Bletchley Riddle" by Ruta Sepetys and Steve Sheinkin

While the rest of the country scrambles to make a living in a world upended by the digital revolution, its creators revel in lifestyles that make the giddy heights of Versailles appear quaint.

From Los Angeles Times ● May 5, 2026

French carmaker Renault said on Monday it was developing a ground-based drone for military and civilian use as Europe scrambles to boost weapons production in the face of Russian aggression.

From Barron's ● Mar. 30, 2026

As Big Tech scrambles to build artificial intelligence, demand for compute has far exceeded supply.

From MarketWatch ● Mar. 24, 2026

The director, Ciarán O’Reilly, keeps the dramatic and comic fires fueled as the play, which runs just 80 minutes, scrambles toward a conclusion.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Mar. 19, 2026

Our Company Commander scrambles in and reports that two dug-outs are gone.

From "All Quiet on the Western Front: A Novel" by Erich Maria Remarque

So when the Fed pivoted and started to raise rates aggressively, many scrambled.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 27, 2026

Deep floodwaters in Bangkok drove thousands of residents into shelters as others scrambled to buy groceries or dry out their homes on Sunday after days of heavy rain inundated markets, roads and residences.

From Barron's ● Sep. 27, 2026

Australia wing Joseph-Aukuso Sua'ali'i was then sin-binned as well to leave Australia three men down and replacement scrum-half Morne van den Berg scrambled in to cut the lead to 11 points.

From BBC ● Sep. 27, 2026

When the 2023 flood came, his crew scrambled to set up about 30 diesel pumps and sent water flowing onto a vineyard and orchards of almonds, pistachios and olives.

From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 26, 2026

We scrambled away as Cunningham turned his horse and splashed through the water, riding back the way he had come.

From "Nory Ryan’s Song" by Patricia Reilly Giff

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 refiners still in operation are racing to supply a market in dire need of diesel, which powers all manner of heavy-duty vehicles and machinery, while also scrambling to procure enough crude shipments to process.

From MarketWatch ● Sep. 22, 2026

Organizers were scrambling to find Gerwig but she had dashed off somewhere else.

From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 20, 2026

The Federal Trade Commission has been cracking down on longtime car-dealer tactics like advertising prices that fail to disclose mandatory fees and add-ons, with dealers and third-party sites like Cars.com and Autotrader.com scrambling to comply.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 20, 2026

A sound of scrambling came from inside the house.

From "The Teacher’s Funeral" by Richard Peck

Related Words

• clamber
• climb
• contend
• crawl
• jostle
• push
• rush
• scurry
• vie