scurry
Americanverb (used without object)
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scurries,
present (3rd person singular)
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scurried,
past participle, past
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scurrying
present participle
verb (used with object)
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scurries,
present (3rd person singular)
-
scurried,
past participle, past
-
scurrying
present participle
noun
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scurries
plural
-
a scurrying rush.
the scurry of little feet on the stairs.
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a short run or race.
verb
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to move about or proceed hurriedly
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(intr) to whirl about
noun
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the act or sound of scurrying
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a brisk light whirling movement, as of snow
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horse racing a short race or sprint
Other Word Forms
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
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scurrysimple
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scurriessimple
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have scurriedperfect
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has scurriedperfect
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am scurryingprogressive
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are scurryingprogressive
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is scurryingprogressive
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have been scurryingperfect progressive
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has been scurryingperfect progressive
Past
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scurriedsimple
-
had scurriedperfect
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was scurryingprogressive
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were scurryingprogressive
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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:
Or the opportunity to introduce him to some innocent bystander so they can scurry away.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Nov. 6, 2025
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
They also tended to stay closer to their hiding places and were more likely to scurry away when approached.
From Los Angeles Times ● Apr. 25, 2025
There was a frantic scurry among the Palace servants when orders were received from the Queen that a twenty-four-foot giant must be seated with Her Majesty in the Great Ballroom within the next half-hour.
From "The BFG" by Roald Dahl
“Shielded by her security, Britney scurries in like a frightened deer,” Weiss writes.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 9, 2025
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
There are no fresh ideas in the French creepy-crawler “Infested,” yet this first feature from Sébastien Vanicek scurries forward with such pep and purpose that its shortcomings are easily forgivable.
From New York Times ● Apr. 25, 2024
A woman who, on the rare occasions she is seen, scurries to the shops and hurries straight back.
From BBC ● Nov. 4, 2022
She finishes mopping and scurries down the stairs.
From "An Ember in the Ashes" by Sabaa Tahir
Other local residents scurried to take cover in basements.
From Barron's ● Mar. 16, 2026
Trilobites scurried across the seafloor among dense clusters of shelled mollusks.
From Science Daily ● Jan. 11, 2026
Six Flags shares were shooting up on the news of Jana’s involvement, and the two men excitedly scurried away to talk.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 25, 2025
Thousands had excitedly scurried through the entrance gates before sunrise to claim a spot in the huge 5,000-capacity grandstand on the first tee.
From BBC ● Sep. 26, 2025
Nhamo foraged by herself these days, and she scurried back to her trees before the troop returned.
From "A Girl Named Disaster" by Nancy Farmer
It sends a few scurrying for help, meanwhile, and leaves others vulnerable because they don’t know there’s anything they can do to prevent this from happening.
From MarketWatch ● Aug. 25, 2026
Even index-fund providers are scurrying to change their rules so they can stuff hot IPOs into indexes as fast as possible.
From The Wall Street Journal ● May 5, 2026
An over-excited group of fans celebrated the two saves by breaking a pane of glass behind the Kings bench, sending the coaches scurrying and pausing the game for several minutes as workmen repaired the damage.
From Los Angeles Times ● Apr. 22, 2026
Flames and smoke erupted from a luxury hotel on Dubai's Palm, the landmark, palm tree-shaped development of land reclaimed from the sea, after a loud bang sent passers-by scurrying for cover.
From Barron's ● Feb. 28, 2026
The sharp pine needles poked at Ophie’s bare feet, filling the night air with their clean scent, and something small and scurrying ran across the path in front of them, but Ophie barely noticed.
From "Ophie's Ghosts" by Justina Ireland
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Get a wordDefinitions 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.
