scurry
[skur-ee, skuhr-ee]
- to go or move quickly or in haste.
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- to send hurrying along.
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- a scurrying rush: the scurry of little feet on the stairs.
- a short run or race.
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Origin of scurry
First recorded in 1800–10; extracted from hurry-scurry
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018
Related Words
whisk, zip, scamper, rip, dart, dash, scoot, sprint, hurry, bustle, scuttle, shoot, fly, rush, run, whirl, tear, scud, race, skimExamples from the Web for scurried
Contemporary Examples
I chased a tight-lipped Thain as he scurried through the lobby to get back to his headquarters.
Carter scurried back to Mace and reached down to hoist him up.
“Nancy stayed in bed in the hotel room as I scurried around to get the paperwork and the minister and the flowers,” says Campbell.
Historical Examples
Eccles jumped down from the box and scurried to open the front door.
The Black BagLouis Joseph Vance
He nodded; she jumped out; and they scurried through the drizzle.
Alice AdamsBooth Tarkington
He whined pleadingly, and scurried playfully in and out of the underbrush.
White FangJack London
Back and forth they scurried to the sound of that guttural Japanese voice.
The HarborErnest Poole
They scurried with tickling little feet and he could not sleep.
Happy EndingFredric Brown
scurry
- to move about or proceed hurriedly
- (intr) to whirl about
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- the act or sound of scurrying
- a brisk light whirling movement, as of snow
- horse racing a short race or sprint
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Word Origin
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
Word Origin and History for scurried
scurry
v.
1810, perhaps from hurry-scurry (1732), a reduplication of hurry (v.). As a noun, 1823, from the verb.
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Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper