scrabbling

verb

Definition of scrabblingnext
present participle of scrabble
1
as in climbing
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

Relevance
2
as in fumbling
to search for something blindly or uncertainly he frantically scrabbled through the storage chest looking for the needed documents

Synonyms & Similar Words

Examples Sentences

Recent Examples of Synonyms for scrabbling
  1. climbing
  2. scrambling
  3. looking
  4. clambering
  5. reaching
Verb
  • Bitcoin has rebounded to over $100,000 after a lull during the holiday period, climbing along with stock markets.
    Billy Bambrough, Forbes, 6 Jan. 2025
  • Every child should know the awe of watching the sun rise over a pristine lake, the challenge of climbing a rugged trail, and the quiet of a night sky untouched by city lights.
    Alex Stout, Baltimore Sun, 5 Jan. 2025
Definition of climbing
Verb
  • Firms are scrambling to add tax professionals, but with a relatively spares talent pool, that means heavier workloads for existing CPAs.
    Kelly Phillips Erb, Forbes, 24 Dec. 2024
  • Hurts was scrambling on second-and-20 when he was tackled by Washington linebacker Frankie Luvu at the end of his 13-yard run.
    Paulina Dedaj, Fox News, 22 Dec. 2024
Definition of scrambling
Verb
  • Nature abhors a vacuum, and the Democratic Party is in the wilderness looking for an identity, and electing a DNC Chair that most Americans have never heard of isn't going to change that.
    Josh Hammer, Newsweek, 24 Dec. 2024
  • Here’s what to know A CT city is looking into use of red light, speed cameras.
    Stephen Underwood, Hartford Courant, 24 Dec. 2024
Definition of looking
Verb
  • On the night before the verdict, they were joined by more than a dozen journalists, clambering for the best angle of their emerging messages, pasted up on walls already crowded by other snippets of testimony and poetry.
    Catherine Porter, New York Times, 20 Dec. 2024
  • This once meant waiting in long lines outside stores like Walmart and Best Buy in the early morning hours, clambering over one another to snag electronics, beauty items, and other unaffordable gifts at a steal.
    Connor Sturges, Condé Nast Traveler, 3 Dec. 2024
Definition of clambering
Verb
  • Chicago was getting freezing drizzle and then temperatures potentially reaching into the mid-to-upper 20s.
    Elizabeth Weise, USA TODAY, 8 Jan. 2025
  • Sustained powerful winds reaching nearly 100 miles per hour are driving fast-moving wildfires near Los Angeles, spewing smoke, destroying homes, closing roads, and forcing thousands of people to evacuate.
    Vox Staff, Vox, 8 Jan. 2025
Definition of reaching
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

Thesaurus Entries Near scrabbling

scrabbles

scrabbling

scrag

See More Nearby Entries 

Cite this Entry

“Scrabbling.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/scrabbling. Accessed 20 Jan. 2025.

Copy Citation

Share

More from Merriam-Webster on scrabbling

Nglish: Translation of scrabbling for Spanish Speakers

Britannica English: Translation of scrabbling for Arabic Speakers

Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!

Popular in Grammar & Usage

See All

'Affect' vs. 'Effect'

Using Bullet Points ( • )

Why is '-ed' sometimes pronounced at the end of a word?

What's the difference between 'fascism' and 'socialism'?

More Commonly Misspelled Words
See All

Popular in Wordplay

See All

Top 12 Sophisticated Compliments

Word of the Year 2024 | Polarization

Terroir, Oenophile, & Magnum: Ten Words About Wine

8 Words for Lesser-Known Musical Instruments

10 Words from Taylor Swift Songs (Merriam's Version)
See All

Games & Quizzes

See All
Play Quordle: Guess all four words in a limited number of tries. Each of your guesses must be a real 5-letter word.
Quordle Can you solve 4 words at once?
Play Blossom: Solve today's spelling word game by finding as many words as you can using just 7 letters. Longer words score more points.
Blossom Word Game Pick the best words!
Play Missing Letter: a crossword with a twist. Each of the 25 puzzle words start with a different letter of the alphabet. Which letter is missing?
Missing Letter A daily crossword with a twist
white rubber duck stands out in a row of yellow ducks
Odd Word Out: Synonyms Quiz Figure out which word isn't like the others.