scurry

verb

scur·​ry ˈskər-ē 

ˈskə-rē

scurried; scurrying

intransitive verb

1

: to move in or as if in a brisk pace : scamper

2

: to move around in an agitated, confused, or fluttering manner

scurry noun

Synonyms

• barrel
• belt
• blast
• blaze
• blow
• bolt
• bomb [slang]
• bowl
• breeze
• bundle
• bustle
• buzz
• cannonball
• careen
• career
• chase
• course
• crack (on)
• dash
• drive
• fly
• hare
• hasten
• hie
• highball
• hotfoot (it)
• hump
• hurl
• hurry
• hurtle
• hustle
• jet
• jump
• motor
• nip
• pelt
• race
• ram
• rip
• rocket
• run
• rush
• rustle
• scoot
• scuttle
• shoot
• speed
• step
• tear
• travel
• trot
• whirl
• whisk
• zip
• zoom

Examples of scurry in a Sentence

She scurried off to finish the job.

Mice scurried around the house.

Recent Examples on the Web

Unless there is a shark approaching you, in which case scurry sideways like a crab. —Viktoria Shulevich, The New Yorker, 4 Nov. 2024

Chris Norris October 30, 2024 7:08 AM EDT Sphero’s 2018 Bolt—a baseball-sized orb that could be programmed to roll and scurry around—offered students a visceral experience in early coding. —Chris Norris, TIME, 30 Oct. 2024

Fall is the time of year when homeowners may be noticing more spiders scurrying across their kitchen floors and setting up camp by weaving complex webs in the dark corners of their basements. —Eric Lagatta, USA TODAY, 29 Oct. 2024

While our guide talked, viscachas — Peruvian chinchillas — scurried atop the walls and a quartet of wild llamas gathered on one of the lawns. —Monisha Rajesh, Travel + Leisure, 20 Oct. 2024

Word History

Etymology

short for hurry-scurry, reduplication of hurry

First Known Use

1810, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Phrases Containing scurry

• hurry-scurry

Kids Definition

scurry

verb

scur·​ry ˈskər-ē 

ˈskə-rē

scurried; scurrying

: to move briskly : scamper

scurry noun