scrabble

¹ American  

[skrab-uhl] / ˈskræb əl /

verb (used with object)

scrabbled, scrabbling

1. to scratch or scrape, as with the claws or hands.

2. to grapple or struggle with or as if with the claws or hands.

3. to scrawl; scribble.

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verb (used without object)

scrabbled, scrabbling

1. to scratch or dig frantically with the hands; claw (often followed byat ).

   scrabbling at a locked door to escape the flames.

2. to jostle or struggle for possession of something; grab or collect something in a disorderly way; scramble.

noun

1. a scratching or scraping, as with the claws or hands.

2. a scrawled or scribbled writing.

3. a disorderly struggle for possession of something; scramble.

   After the fumble, there was a scrabble for the football.

Scrabble ² American  

[skrab-uhl] / ˈskræb əl /

Trademark.

1. a brand name for a game combining anagrams and crosswords in which two to four players use counters of various point values to form words on a playing board.

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scrabble ¹ British  

/ ˈskræbəl /

verb

1. (intr; often foll by about or at) to scrape (at) or grope (for), as with hands or claws

2. to struggle (with)

3. to struggle to gain possession, esp in a disorderly manner

4. to scribble

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noun

1. the act or an instance of scrabbling

2. a scribble

3. a disorderly struggle

Scrabble ² British  

/ ˈskræbəl /

noun

1. a board game in which words are formed by placing lettered tiles in a pattern similar to a crossword puzzle

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Other Word Forms

• Scrabbler noun
• scrabbler noun

Etymology

Origin of scrabble

1530–40; < Dutch schrabbelen to scratch, frequentative of schrabben to scrape

Explanation

To scrabble is to grasp or grope. If you lose your footing while rock climbing, you'll scrabble around with your fingers for a ledge to hang onto. The verb scrabble means to scratch or grab with your hands, the way you might search for something in a dark room or clutch at something frantically as you drop it. Scrabble also describes an animal's movements, like the sound of a squirrel that scrabbles, or scurries, out of your garbage can. Scrabble is also the name of a board game that involves making words out of letter tiles. Scrabble comes from the Dutch schrabben, "to scratch."

Example Sentences

A group of people scrabble on the ground, sifting through the soil.

From BBC • Jul. 10, 2025

Lee wanted wealth and stability, not to scrabble around in obscurity hoping to beat impossibly long odds.

From Los Angeles Times • Mar. 18, 2024

Don’t just rely on your phone’s memory; you might not be the one making the phone call and it saves time not to have to scrabble around.

From Seattle Times • Dec. 20, 2023

"If they leave, either the jobs disappear entirely, or factories scrabble to receive orders from footloose buying agents who care only about cheap labour and do not worry about factory conditions," Bowman told Reuters.

From Reuters • Aug. 16, 2023

I heard Mama scrabble around in the kitchen for a bit, and then she came out with a mound of folded tinfoil that she handed over to Susie.

From "Root Magic" by Eden Royce

Related Words

• clamber
• creep
• drag
• inch
• plod
• poke
• slide
• slither
• squirm
• wriggle