1
as in throng
a great number of persons or creatures massed together
I had to fight my way through the scrum of holiday shoppers at the mall
Synonyms & Similar Words
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2
as in skirmish
a physical dispute between opposing individuals or groups
when the server spilled a drink on a customer, they got into a bit of a scrum before being separated
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
3
as in bedlam
British
a place of uproar or confusion
London's tube is quite a scrum during rush hour
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of scrum
Around this time, as The Apprentice was becoming a hit on NBC, the network tried
to persuade Michaels to host his own reality show, broadcasting the competitive scrum behind the scenes at SNL.
—
Seija Rankin, The Hollywood Reporter, 18 Feb. 2025
Kerr later spent time with her family, including father Roger and mother Roxanne who had flown over from Australia, before making a swift exit through the media scrum.
—Tom Burrows, The Athletic, 11 Feb. 2025
The restaurant’s interior is cramped, in a warm and elegant sort of way; past the scrum at the host stand is a pint-size bar, and a brief field of tables beyond.
—Helen Rosner, The New Yorker, 2 Feb. 2025
Wednesday’s win helped the Terps break away from a scrum including Wisconsin, UCLA and Illinois and command sole possession of fourth place in the Big Ten.
—Edward Lee, Baltimore Sun, 30 Jan. 2025
See All Example Sentences for scrum
Seija Rankin, The Hollywood Reporter, 18 Feb. 2025
Kerr later spent time with her family, including father Roger and mother Roxanne who had flown over from Australia, before making a swift exit through the media scrum.
—Tom Burrows, The Athletic, 11 Feb. 2025
The restaurant’s interior is cramped, in a warm and elegant sort of way; past the scrum at the host stand is a pint-size bar, and a brief field of tables beyond.
—Helen Rosner, The New Yorker, 2 Feb. 2025
Wednesday’s win helped the Terps break away from a scrum including Wisconsin, UCLA and Illinois and command sole possession of fourth place in the Big Ten.
—Edward Lee, Baltimore Sun, 30 Jan. 2025
See All Example Sentences for scrum
Recent Examples of Synonyms for scrum
Noun
-
The rioters returned that night to Rock Springs, where a cheering throng of several hundred residents greeted them.—
Michael Luo,
The New Yorker,
3 Mar. 2025
-
Avoid Wednesday afternoon, because French children have no school, freeing throngs of families for museum-going.—
Elaine Sciolino,
Travel + Leisure,
22 Feb. 2025
Noun
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The killings helped ignite the Revolutionary War that began following the April 19, 1775, skirmishes called the Battle of Lexington and Concord and the vastly bloodier June 17, 1775, Battle of Bunker Hill in Charlestown.—
Peter Lucas,
Boston Herald,
3 Mar. 2025
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Since the onset of Israel’s war against Hamas, the Israel Defense Forces engaged in cross-border skirmishes with Hezbollah – including ground operations on Lebanese soil – until a ceasefire deal was struck late last year.—
Greg Norman,
Fox News,
28 Feb. 2025
Noun
-
For example, India—a huge market for most products, services and technologies—may not exactly be ready for a robotaxi (dense population, rules and regulations, traffic bedlams, etc.).—
Punnam Raju Manthena,
Forbes,
7 Mar. 2025
-
Not long after, the catastrophic climate event happened, and bedlam broke out at the facility.—
Kimberly Roots,
TVLine,
4 Mar. 2025
Noun
-
Back inside the main party space, a crowd formed not far from the entrance.—
Chris Gardner,
The Hollywood Reporter,
3 Mar. 2025
-
In December, a car crashed into a crowd at a Christmas market in Magdeburg, Germany, west of Berlin, that resulted in five deaths and left more than 200 people injured.—
Rachel McRady,
People.com,
3 Mar. 2025
Noun
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Chicago Fire April 19: Columbus Crew May 10: Minnesota United May 14: San Jose Earthquakes May 24: Philadelphia Union The good news for out-of-Miami Messi fans is that – so far – there are no direct schedule clashes between the Argentina national team schedule and the Herons’ itinerary.—
Ian Nicholas Quillen,
Forbes,
3 Mar. 2025
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The sun’s clash with Jupiter encourages you to accept a promising career opportunity!—
USA TODAY,
USA TODAY,
2 Mar. 2025
Noun
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Jessica Chastain, The Eyes of Tammy Faye Welcome to the madhouse.—
Vulture,
Vulture,
28 Feb. 2022
-
Life around the office, which included a basketball court and beer on tap, was a preview of the headquarters-as-madhouse ethos soon to dominate Silicon Valley.—
Alex Williams,
New York Times,
14 Oct. 2022
Noun
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Taylor Hill and Barbara Palvin made fast friends in the front row, with swarms of photographers snapping the two together.—
Rhonda Richford,
WWD,
6 Mar. 2025
-
However, what stood out most was not the iconic monuments but the relentless swarm of locals pushing donkey and camel rides on him.—
Emese Maczko,
Forbes,
5 Mar. 2025
Noun
-
As a digital balloting closed earlier Sunday, Carney received the overwhelming majority of the 150,000 members of the Liberal Party than any other contender in the short leadership battle.—
Dominic Patten,
Deadline,
9 Mar. 2025
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Whoever challenges for the Democrat nomination will have half an eye on the national battle, where the economy, security and national pride are likely to outweigh liberal issues.—
William Lambers,
Newsweek,
9 Mar. 2025
Articles Related to scrum
Cite this Entry
“Scrum.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/scrum. Accessed 15 Mar. 2025.
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