scurry

[ skur-ee, skuhr-ee ]
See synonyms for: scurryscurriedscurriesscurrying on Thesaurus.com

verb (used without object),scur·ried, scur·ry·ing.
  1. to go or move quickly or in haste.

verb (used with object),scur·ried, scur·ry·ing.
  1. to send hurrying along.

noun,plural scur·ries.
  1. a scurrying rush: the scurry of little feet on the stairs.

  2. a short run or race.

Origin of scurry

1
First recorded in 1800–10; extracted from hurry-scurry

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024

How to use scurry in a sentence

  • Rare and beautiful birds came and watched the barefooted children as they scurried around, building their wall of masonry.

    The Box-Car Children | Gertrude Chandler Warner
  • The girl scurried by and darted from the room, dodging the smiting hand which the host raised as she flew past him.

    St. Martin's Summer | Rafael Sabatini
  • Just at this moment a rabbit scurried across the road, and the dogs, with yelps of delight, took after it.

  • They scurried down a long, dismal lane toward a low-lying range of hills pertly wooded with bald patches of barren earth and rock.

    Cabin Fever | B. M. Bower
  • But with the first shot both men left the house by the mill and scurried like rabbits for the open fields.

    The Amazing Interlude | Mary Roberts Rinehart

British Dictionary definitions for scurry

scurry

/ (ˈskʌrɪ) /


verb-ries, -rying or -ried
  1. to move about or proceed hurriedly

  2. (intr) to whirl about

nounplural -ries
  1. the act or sound of scurrying

  2. a brisk light whirling movement, as of snow

  1. horse racing a short race or sprint

Origin of scurry

1
C19: probably shortened from hurry-scurry

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012