scurry
Americanverb (used without object)
verb (used with object)
noun
-
a scurrying rush.
the scurry of little feet on the stairs.
-
a short run or race.
verb
-
to move about or proceed hurriedly
-
(intr) to whirl about
noun
-
the act or sound of scurrying
-
a brisk light whirling movement, as of snow
-
horse racing a short race or sprint
Other Word Forms
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
-
scurrysimple
-
scurriessimple
-
have scurriedperfect
-
has scurriedperfect
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am scurryingprogressive
-
are scurryingprogressive
-
is scurryingprogressive
-
have been scurryingperfect progressive
-
has been scurryingperfect progressive
Past
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scurriedsimple
-
had scurriedperfect
-
was scurryingprogressive
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were scurryingprogressive
-
had been scurryingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of scurry
First recorded in 1800–10; extracted from hurry-scurry
Explanation
Scurry means to move quickly, at a frenzied pace, and often also implies the urge to hide. When you come upon a mouse in your house, chances are it will scurry away. Think of scurry this way — anytime you describe someone as scurrying, you're comparing them to a mouse. When you say troops scurried back behind their defensive lines, you're insulting them. When you say children scurry around searching for eggs during an Easter egg hunt, you think they're cute.
Vocabulary lists containing scurry
100 Words Every Middle Schooler Should Know
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Unit 1: Telling Details
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100 Great Words from "Fahrenheit 451" -- Part I Vocabulary
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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.
See Examples For:
Life moves pretty fast when your heart beats 1,200 times a minute, and the plot of “The Shrew Detective” moves briskly as Minerva and Tenacity scurry between clues.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 12, 2026
Once one side has been effectively tagged with responsibility, they’ll scurry for a way out.
From Slate ● Oct. 1, 2025
The home side were the happier to scurry to the dressing room.
From BBC ● Aug. 3, 2025
How quickly or slowly can the chyrons listing adverse reactions scurry across your screen?
From Salon ● Sep. 12, 2024
I fix my eyes on a shell-hole; the moment the light dies I scurry over into it, grope farther, spring into the next, duck down, scramble onward.
From "All Quiet on the Western Front: A Novel" by Erich Maria Remarque
“It’s so intimidating to walk through here,” says an arena staffer as she scurries under the sight line of a video camera on a tall tripod.
From Los Angeles Times ● May 13, 2026
A few minutes' walk from the Citizens Advice office, Shania is sitting at the edge of a park feeding her newborn baby, while her older child, a toddler, scurries nearby.
From BBC ● May 4, 2026
But despite this convincing show, Romy is merely faking it, a detail we learn moments later when she scurries off to the privacy of her office.
From Salon ● Dec. 23, 2024
Instead, she’s poised and sure-footed, musing about the possibility of romance as Getz’s saxophone scurries and spirals around her.
From New York Times ● Jun. 6, 2023
She spins on her foot and scurries toward her house.
From "Shouting at the Rain" by Lynda Mullaly Hunt
Other local residents scurried to take cover in basements.
From Barron's ● Mar. 16, 2026
Greenlandic staff scurried briskly into the building, looking ashamed to be working for America.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jan. 24, 2026
Trilobites scurried across the seafloor among dense clusters of shelled mollusks.
From Science Daily ● Jan. 11, 2026
Only Forrest and Gustav were home at the time, and they scurried through the house to grab what they could.
From Los Angeles Times ● Dec. 19, 2025
He scurried out the door and trotted over to the boy.
From "Dog Squad" by Chris Grabenstein
Two dogs climbed onto the rubble, scurrying up and down, but detected nothing.
From Barron's ● Jun. 28, 2026
“Speed running” is a video game term referring to players who try to complete games as quickly as possible, scurrying around hazards and taking shortcuts to skip through levels.
From Los Angeles Times ● May 8, 2026
Many state price caps sent insurers scurrying away, especially in coastal and flood prone areas.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Mar. 15, 2026
With Bielle-Biarrey having sent Ireland nervously scurrying back towards their line, Charles Ollivon knocked the ball on and let the men in green off the hook.
From BBC ● Feb. 6, 2026
Nor was it tied to the small sounds of scurrying rodents that echoed down to where she had stood at the bottom of the stairs.
From "Ophie's Ghosts" by Justina Ireland
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.
