as in struggle
a forceful effort to reach a goal or objective
it'll be a long scrabble to pull ourselves out of poverty
Synonyms & Similar Words
Relevance
1
as in to climb
to move (as up or over something) often with the help of the hands in holding or pulling
we scrabbled up a sand dune to get a better view of the sea
Synonyms & Similar Words
2
as in to fumble
to search for something blindly or uncertainly
he frantically scrabbled through the storage chest looking for the needed documents
Synonyms & Similar Words
Example Sentences
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to
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Recent Examples of scrabble
Oluwatosin Adeshokan, Quartz Africa, 8 Nov. 2019
Across the street from her, a kinetic scrabble of orange and blue runs the height of a five-story brick building like an electric charge.
—Globe Staff, BostonGlobe.com, 27 July 2019
Roxana Hadadi, Vulture, 19 Sep. 2024
Relatively recently, humans were scrabbling in the dirt, and hunting for animals, and writing things on cave walls, or later, parchments.
—John Werner, Forbes, 16 Oct. 2024
See All Example Sentences for scrabble
Noun
In the early 90s, Nigeria’s central government recognized scrabble as a sport.
—Oluwatosin Adeshokan, Quartz Africa, 8 Nov. 2019
Across the street from her, a kinetic scrabble of orange and blue runs the height of a five-story brick building like an electric charge.
—Globe Staff, BostonGlobe.com, 27 July 2019
Verb
There are other ethnic lines drawn among Gotham’s gangs, each scrabbling for a little bit more of the pie that Carmine used to keep mostly for himself.
—Roxana Hadadi, Vulture, 19 Sep. 2024
Relatively recently, humans were scrabbling in the dirt, and hunting for animals, and writing things on cave walls, or later, parchments.
—John Werner, Forbes, 16 Oct. 2024
See All Example Sentences for scrabble
Recent Examples of Synonyms for scrabble
Noun
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What To Know The pope has faced ongoing health struggles which have sparked speculation about decisions by the Catholic Church on the upcoming Easter celebrations.—
Dan Perry,
Newsweek,
1 Mar. 2025
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Kansas has to do a good job communicating on ball screens — a struggle at various points this season — and force Texas Tech to take tough shots.—
Shreyas Laddha,
Kansas City Star,
1 Mar. 2025
Verb
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And with Nikola Vucevic, Patrick Williams and Ayo Dosunmu now sidelined, the rookie’s usage rate should continue to climb.—
Eric Wong,
The Athletic,
26 Feb. 2025
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That tune, which once climbed all the way to No. 3, is back at No. 34.—
Hugh McIntyre,
Forbes,
26 Feb. 2025
Verb
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Messes: The Blue Jays are fumbling a star It’s been a tough few years for the Blue Jays and high-end baseball talent.—
Chris Branch,
The Athletic,
19 Feb. 2025
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Even Ferrell himself fumbled over the racy lines, which elicited so much laughter that both Thompson and Murphy struggled to hold back their smiles.—
Angela Andaloro,
People.com,
17 Feb. 2025
Noun
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The ongoing legal battles over Trump's executive orders are expected to continue, with further court challenges and appeals likely.—
Matt Robison,
Newsweek,
25 Feb. 2025
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The biggest victories in the inflation battle already have occurred, Hoyt said.—
Paul Davidson,
USA TODAY,
25 Feb. 2025
Verb
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Already, the Trump administration has had to walk back major job cuts to departments, including scrambling to rehire hundreds of nuclear security workers as well as several Department of Agriculture workers who focus on the avian bird flu.—
Aysha Bagchi,
USA TODAY,
22 Feb. 2025
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Standard communication channels like email or office phones may be compromised, leaving your organization scrambling.—
Ilia Sotnikov,
Forbes,
21 Feb. 2025
Verb
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As lethal injection drugs have become harder to obtain, states with the death penalty have looked to expand their methods to things like firing squads and nitrogen gas, which was first used in the U.S. in January 2024 in Alabama with the execution of Kenneth Eugene Smith.—
Amanda Lee Myers,
USA TODAY,
22 Feb. 2025
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All of those energies are looking at the situation differently, and so nobody’s playing the same thing in those scenes.—
Alan Sepinwall,
Rolling Stone,
21 Feb. 2025
Noun
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Their responses indicate a lengthy fight to come over the budget resolution.—
Sudiksha Kochi,
USA TODAY,
27 Feb. 2025
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His childhood was turbulent—his parents' frequent fights sometimes turned physical, with his father directing his frustrations at young Gene.—
David Faris,
Newsweek,
27 Feb. 2025
Verb
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Spectators clambered atop rubble and wrecked vehicles to watch the handover, waving Palestinian and Hamas flags.—
Willem Marx,
NPR,
25 Jan. 2025
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Shares slumped over the summer on concerns over weakness in its theme parks biz — then clambered back up in November on strong earnings results and streaming profits, and Disney’s three-year forecast for EPS growth.—
Todd Spangler,
Variety,
30 Dec. 2024
Cite this Entry
“Scrabble.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/scrabble. Accessed 5 Mar. 2025.
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