Meaning

(intransitive) To scrape or scratch powerfully with hands or claws..

Definitions by Sense

1. (intransitive) To scrape or scratch powerfully with hands or claws.
2. (transitive) To gather hastily.
3. (intransitive) To move with difficulty by making rapid movements back and forth with the hands or paws.
4. (intransitive) To scribble.
5. (transitive) To mark with irregular lines or letters; to scribble on.
6. A scramble.

Example Sentences

[…] there came no answer, except the echo of my own voice sounding hollow and far off down in the vault. So in despair I turned back to the earth wall below the slab, and scrabbled at it with my fingers, till my nails were broken and the blood ran out; having all the while a sure knowledge, like a cord twisted round my head, that no effort of mine could ever dislodge the great stone.

So he scraped and scratched and scrabbled and scrooged, then he scrooged again[.]

The lane had not been designed for ponderous trucks. In the narrower parts we had to push our way along it between bushes and brambles which scrabbled along the sides as though they tried to pull us back.

“Oh. The perfect ending to the perfect-- [chuckles] I almost said evening. More like months, though, isn't it? Since we started scrabbling for coins because the damn government took away our-- every thing. They took everything. And the only thing that was left, you idiots either lost, gave away, ate, or just blew up and sank.”

She was on her hands and knees scrabbling in the mud, looking for her missing wedding ring.

David […] scrabbled on the doors of the gate.

to scrabble paper

a scrabble for dear life

Word Forms

• scrabbles
• scrabbling
• scrabbled

Synonyms for scrabble

Related Words

When Should You Use Scrabble?

Use scrabble when its meaning, tone and grammar fit the full sentence. A synonym is not always a direct replacement.

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