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Words, grammatical forms and meanings linked to the ontology.

scrabble en · NOUN

Pronunciation

  • /ˈskɹæbəl/
  • (US) audio

Etymology

From Middle Dutch schrabbelen, frequentative of schrabben (“to scrape”), equivalent to scrab + -le. More at scrape.

Meanings

  1. A scramble.
    • a scrabble for dear life

Forms

SpellingFeaturesLabelsSource
scrabbles Number=Plur lexicographic

scrabble en · VERB

Pronunciation

  • /ˈskɹæbəl/
  • (US) audio

Etymology

From Middle Dutch schrabbelen, frequentative of schrabben (“to scrape”), equivalent to scrab + -le. More at scrape.

Meanings

  1. (intransitive) To scrape or scratch powerfully with hands or claws.
    • So he scraped and scratched and scrabbled and scrooged, then he scrooged again[.] 1908, Kenneth Grahame, The Wind in the Willows, London: Wordsworth Classics, published 1993, page 12:
    • 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. 1951, John Wyndham, The Day of the Triffids, Harmondsworth: Penguin Books, published 1954, page 217:
    • […] 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. [1898], J[ohn] Meade Falkner, Moonfleet, London; Toronto, Ont.: Jonathan Cape, published 1934, →OCLC:
  2. (transitive) To gather hastily.
    • “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.” 2014 March 24, Adam Reed, “On the Carpet” (19:15 from the start), in Archer, season 5, episode 9, spoken by Malory Archer (Jessica Walter):
  3. (intransitive) To move with difficulty by making rapid movements back and forth with the hands or paws.
    • She was on her hands and knees scrabbling in the mud, looking for her missing wedding ring.
  4. (intransitive) To scribble.
    • David […] scrabbled on the doors of the gate. 1611, The Holy Bible, […] (King James Version), London: […] Robert Barker, […], →OCLC, 1 Samuel 21:13:
  5. (transitive) To mark with irregular lines or letters; to scribble on.
    • to scrabble paper

Forms

SpellingFeaturesLabelsSource
scrabbling Tense=Pres, VerbForm=Part lexicographic
scrabbles Number=Sing, Person=3, Tense=Pres lexicographic
scrabbled Tense=Past, VerbForm=Part lexicographic
scrabbled Tense=Past lexicographic

Deriveds

scribble-scrabble · scrabbly · hardscrabble · scrabbler

Relateds

scrape · scramble · scrab · scrap · scrapple

Synonyms

scramble

Translations (4)

bg дращя (to scrape or scratch powerfully) · fi haroa (to do rapid back-and-forth movements with hands or paws) · fi raapia (to scrape or scratch powerfully) · bg драскам (to do rapid back-and-forth movements with hands or paws)