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.

---

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.

---

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

---

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

---

Other Word Forms

• Scrabbler noun
• scrabbler noun

Etymology

Origin of scrabble

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

Example Sentences

Bruno Fernandes, perhaps the only United player to have done himself justice this season, pulled one back from the penalty spot after Casemiro was kicked during a frantic scrabble.

From BBC • Apr. 17, 2025

It might not be up to John Cena standards, but she’s clearly figured at least a few things out along her scrabble to undeniable stardom.

From Los Angeles Times • May 13, 2024

"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

“Imagine you have scrabble tiles that spell out ‘Powerball.’

From Seattle Times • Jul. 19, 2023

I scrabble for something to hold on to as the door swings open, and I tumble out, a mountain of instrument cases cascading all around me.

From "Muffled" by Jennifer Gennari

Related Words

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