to run or move quickly or hurriedly.
Nautical. to run before a gale with little or no sail set.
Archery. (of an arrow) to fly too high and wide of the mark.
the act of scudding.
clouds, spray, or mist driven by the wind; a driving shower or gust of wind.
low-drifting clouds appearing beneath a cloud from which precipitation is falling.
(intr) (esp of clouds) to move along swiftly and smoothly
(intr) nautical to run before a gale
(tr) to hit; slap
the act of scudding
meteorol
a formation of low fractostratus clouds driven by a strong wind beneath rain-bearing clouds
a sudden shower or gust of wind
a slap
First recorded in 1525–35; of obscure origin; possibly from Middle Low German or Middle Dutch schudden “to shake”
First recorded in 1780–90; of uncertain origin; perhaps from obsolete scud “dirt”
The NATO name for a missile developed by the Soviets in the 1960s; probably from scud in the sense “to move quickly”
To scud is to quickly dart or dash, the way clouds scud across the sky on a windy day or a sailboat scuds along the surface of a lake when it finally catches a breeze. When something scuds, it's often because the wind seems to be blowing it along — so you might watch kites scud over the beach or birds scud from tree to tree. Experts aren't positive about the origins of this word, but one guess connects it to scut, "rabbit" or "rabbit's tail." The speed of something scudding influenced NATO's code name for the Soviet Union's Cold War-era missiles, Scuds.
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Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
The team looked at three types of freshwater animals -- two species of gammarid, or "scud," which is a small freshwater crustacean; one freshwater snail; and three aquatic insect species.
From Science Daily ● Oct. 6, 2023
Fleecy white clouds scud across a bright blue sky, providing enough intermittent shade to keep temperatures tolerable.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jan. 6, 2020
The Patriot system thought the scud was far from the barracks and did not fire.
From Slate ● Oct. 31, 2019
The fish grow so big because the limestone-rich waters support abundant plankton, which are consumed by billions of scud, a freshwater shrimp.
From New York Times ● Mar. 10, 2019
It’s past midnight, and clouds scud over a nearly full moon.
From "An Ember in the Ashes" by Sabaa Tahir
The U.S. also sent Patriot antimissile batteries that year to Israel to defend the country from the Scud missile attacks then Iraqi President Saddam Hussein had ordered.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Feb. 26, 2026
Work started on the system after the First Gulf War in 1991, when Iraq fired dozens of Soviet-made Scud missiles into Israel.
From BBC ● Oct. 2, 2024
Patriot: This American-made system is the oldest member of Israel’s missile-defense system – used during the First Gulf War in 1991 to intercept Scud missiles fired by Iraq’s leader at the time, Saddam Hussein.
From Seattle Times ● Apr. 13, 2024
The Iskander-M, a mobile guided missile system code named "SS-26 Stone" by NATO, replaced the Soviet "Scud".
From Reuters ● Dec. 26, 2022
Whence came these muscles of steel that subdued such powers arrayed against lazy Scud?
From A Republic Without a President and Other Stories by Ward, Herbert D. (Herbert Dickinson)
The ball scudded over the outstretched arms of American goalkeeper Zack Steffen and under the crossbar, sparking cheers from the sparse, happily stunned crowd.
From New York Times ● Nov. 16, 2021
Ryan Porteous' attempted clearance was scudded off the back of Ferguson straight into the path of Cosgrove.
From BBC ● Nov. 6, 2020
Gusts of dry leaves scudded across the parking lot.
From Washington Post ● Oct. 15, 2020
Rain lashed the hills that surround the hills to the south and east of Phokeng, eddies of dust scudded across the plain to the north and lightning flickered constantly above the platinum works.
From The Guardian ● Feb. 4, 2013
Low, shaggy clouds scudded over that part of the horizon where the sea lay, behind the marshes and the beach shanty settlements, and raindrops darkened the black mackintosh I had bought that morning.
From "The Bell Jar" by Sylvia Plath
With 10 in their last two - 15 in three if you include last week's Scottish Cup semi-final scudding of St Johnstone - you would fancy them to do that.
From BBC ● Apr. 26, 2025
But in summer the view from the opposite side is equally spectacular: the approach of moisture-laden monsoon clouds, scudding across the sky.
From Seattle Times ● Oct. 9, 2022
In the quiet of evening, after competition has ended, the venue echoes with a scudding sound of practice throws and the heavy thunk of takeouts.
From Los Angeles Times ● Feb. 18, 2022
Are the scudding clouds moving at the right speed?
From The Guardian ● Sep. 7, 2019
The bells were ringing again, high in the scudding sunlight in bright disorderly tatters of sound.
From "The Sound and the Fury" by William Faulkner
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.
