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
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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
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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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Examples Sentences
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Recent Examples of scrum
The massive scrum that broke out toward the end of the second period started because Dach pushed Zibanejad into Quick after the whistle, something that led Quick to go after Dach in his crease.
—
Arpon Basu, The Athletic, 1 Dec. 2024
When the ball was eventually thrown by quarterback Jayden Daniels, Stevenson sprinted into the scrum, and the ball appeared to hit his hands before falling back to Brown.
—Scott Thompson, Fox News, 4 Nov. 2024
Cellos and basses then took up that figure with lusty force, like a rugby scrum pushing downfield.
—Alex Ross, The New Yorker, 9 Dec. 2024
McNeill was caught in a scrum on just the fourth defensive play of the night and was pulled from the game by officials.
—Daniel R. Depetris, Newsweek, 6 Dec. 2024
See all Example Sentences for scrum 
Arpon Basu, The Athletic, 1 Dec. 2024
When the ball was eventually thrown by quarterback Jayden Daniels, Stevenson sprinted into the scrum, and the ball appeared to hit his hands before falling back to Brown.
—Scott Thompson, Fox News, 4 Nov. 2024
Cellos and basses then took up that figure with lusty force, like a rugby scrum pushing downfield.
—Alex Ross, The New Yorker, 9 Dec. 2024
McNeill was caught in a scrum on just the fourth defensive play of the night and was pulled from the game by officials.
—Daniel R. Depetris, Newsweek, 6 Dec. 2024
See all Example Sentences for scrum
Recent Examples of Synonyms for scrum
Noun
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An atmosphere of fear has brought throngs of Sudanese to the doorstep of the U.N. refugee agency in Cairo, seeking formal protection.Vivian Yee, New York Times, 9 Jan. 2025
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Some cabinets of yore still exist in some form today, as with Ulisse Aldrovandi’s collection, which draws throngs of visitors to Bologna each year.The Editors, JSTOR Daily, 8 Jan. 2025
Noun
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The ugly scene on a suburban street was a harbinger of skirmishes to come.Carol Marbin Miller, Miami Herald, 2 Jan. 2025
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Houston teammates then ran in to defend their teammate, as well, leading to a skirmish that spilled out of bounds while Lawrence remained on the turf, still on his back, as medical personnel tended to him.Andrew Greif, NBC News, 1 Dec. 2024
Noun
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The bedlam came during the third quarter of the game in Nanterre, France, which was part of the FIBA Basketball Champions League.Bradford Betz, Fox News, 19 Dec. 2024
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The idea is to bring an irreverent, underground, at times almost Dada-ist sensibility to network television, but that also means surrounding himself with people whose own factory settings are bedlam and cynicism.Bilge Ebiri, Vulture, 27 Sep. 2024
Noun
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Still, some experts warned of the terrorism risks presented by self-driving cars, including the possibility of a hack that could override the navigation system and send the car into a crowd.Max Zahn, ABC News, 2 Jan. 2025
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According to a statement from the FBI, a man driving a Ford pickup truck drove into a crowd of people on Bourbon Street at around 3:15 a.m. local time.Jackson Thompson, Fox News, 2 Jan. 2025
Noun
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In addition to engaging in regular border clashes with Israel, the group has supported Bashar al-Assad in his decimation of Syrian rebels and has been accused of assassinating Lebanese political figures who oppose Syrian or Iranian influence in the country.Youmna Melhem Chamieh, Harper's Magazine, 2 Jan. 2025
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New York City has seen mass demonstrations against Israel, including the encampments, antisemitic rallying cries and clashes with police seen at Columbia University and New York University earlier this year.Danielle Wallace, Fox News, 30 Dec. 2024
Noun
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Jessica Chastain, The Eyes of Tammy Faye Welcome to the madhouse.Vulture, Vulture, 28 Feb. 2022
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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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Alongside this, earthquake swarms, exceeding 500 per day at times, have signalled magma movement.Dan Perry, Newsweek, 3 Jan. 2025
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The hot liquid rock beneath the crust fuels the geysers, hot springs, and boiling mud pots that attract swarms of tourists to that corner of Wyoming.Paul Smaglik, Discover Magazine, 3 Jan. 2025
Noun
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Osbourne didn't share much about her treatment, but this update comes on the heels of her recent battle with a high fever over the holidays.Tommy Tuberville, Newsweek, 9 Jan. 2025
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The Nevada National Guard is also readying two more of those systems, which quickly discharge a retardant to battle fires.Brad Dress, The Hill, 8 Jan. 2025
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Cite this Entry
“Scrum.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/scrum. Accessed 14 Jan. 2025.
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