scurry

[skur-ee, skuhr-ee]

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verb (used without object), scur·ried, scur·ry·ing.

to go or move quickly or in haste.

verb (used with object), scur·ried, scur·ry·ing.

to send hurrying along.

noun, plural scur·ries.

a scurrying rush: the scurry of little feet on the stairs.

a short run or race.

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. 2019

Related Words for scurried

whisk, zip, scamper, rip, dart, dash, scoot, sprint, hurry, bustle, scuttle, shoot, fly, rush, run, whirl, tear, scud, race, skim

Examples from the Web for scurried

Contemporary Examples of scurried

I chased a tight-lipped Thain as he scurried through the lobby to get back to his headquarters.
Banks Really Are Different Five Years After the Financial Crisis
Daniel Gross
September 17, 2013
Carter scurried back to Mace and reached down to hoist him up.
Ty Carter Awarded Medal of Honor
David Eisler, Jake Tapper
August 31, 2013
“Nancy stayed in bed in the hotel room as I scurried around to get the paperwork and the minister and the flowers,” says Campbell.
A Gay Warrior’s Win for Partner at National Cemetery
Eleanor Clift
April 12, 2013

Historical Examples of scurried

Eccles jumped down from the box and scurried to open the front door.
The Black Bag
Louis Joseph Vance
He nodded; she jumped out; and they scurried through the drizzle.
Alice Adams
Booth Tarkington
He whined pleadingly, and scurried playfully in and out of the underbrush.
White Fang
Jack London
Back and forth they scurried to the sound of that guttural Japanese voice.
The Harbor
Ernest Poole
They scurried with tickling little feet and he could not sleep.
Happy Ending
Fredric Brown

British Dictionary definitions for scurried

scurry

verb -ries, -rying or -ried

to move about or proceed hurriedly

(intr) to whirl about

noun plural -ries

the act or sound of scurrying

a brisk light whirling movement, as of snow

horse racing a short race or sprint

Word Origin for scurry

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

1810, perhaps from hurry-scurry (1732), a reduplication of hurry (v.). As a noun, 1823, from the verb.