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
Example Sentences
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.
Recent Examples of scrabbling
That left the administration scrabbling for other ways to reimpose duties that were struck down.
—
Holly Ellyatt, CNBC, 12 Mar. 2026
Next went Marshall Allen, hands on his sax like feral scrabbling mice.
—Literary Hub, 13 Feb. 2026
This left the ruling Labour Party scrabbling.
—Max Goldbart, Deadline, 26 Nov. 2025
He’s blessed with a tense, scrabbling physicality on screen, plus a baby-Brando glower beneath a head of striking blond curls, and Nemes directs him into a stance of braced, vulnerable defensiveness that serves the film’s purposes well — even if his character, too, wants for interior light.
—Guy Lodge, Variety, 28 Aug. 2025
The young Canadian couple are recent transplants to the French capital, having logged a decade as content creators, performance artists and DJs fond of zombie makeup and body dysphoria, slowly scrabbling their way onto the international fashion scene.
—Miles Socha, Footwear News, 3 Sep. 2019
Holly Ellyatt, CNBC, 12 Mar. 2026
Next went Marshall Allen, hands on his sax like feral scrabbling mice.
—Literary Hub, 13 Feb. 2026
This left the ruling Labour Party scrabbling.
—Max Goldbart, Deadline, 26 Nov. 2025
He’s blessed with a tense, scrabbling physicality on screen, plus a baby-Brando glower beneath a head of striking blond curls, and Nemes directs him into a stance of braced, vulnerable defensiveness that serves the film’s purposes well — even if his character, too, wants for interior light.
—Guy Lodge, Variety, 28 Aug. 2025
The young Canadian couple are recent transplants to the French capital, having logged a decade as content creators, performance artists and DJs fond of zombie makeup and body dysphoria, slowly scrabbling their way onto the international fashion scene.
—Miles Socha, Footwear News, 3 Sep. 2019
Recent Examples of Synonyms for scrabbling
Verb
-
To get on a bus is to spend some time climbing aboard, or being pushed from behind, or being pulled up by the armpit.—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
3 Apr. 2026
-
This weekend the heat is back, with inland valleys climbing into the mid-80s and San Francisco on track to hit 80 degrees for the eighth or ninth time this year.—
Greg Porter,
San Francisco Chronicle,
3 Apr. 2026
Verb
-
Nothing erodes confidence faster than fumbling for lockboxes, waiting on unresponsive listing agents, or showing a space that clearly doesn’t fit.—
Allen Buchanan,
Oc Register,
28 Mar. 2026
-
Last season’s Detroit Tigers endured the worst divisional collapse in history, fumbling an AL Central lead that reached 15 1/2 games in July.—
Cody Stavenhagen,
New York Times,
25 Mar. 2026
Verb
-
With the interference scrambling the ringside situation, Paul got hold of the brass knuckles and used them against The Usos, allowing The Vision to secure the pinfall and win the championships.—
Andrew Ravens,
MSNBC Newsweek,
31 Mar. 2026
-
First-time business owners can successfully move forward rather than scrambling around and making decisions based on frustration.—
Daniel Fusch,
USA Today,
30 Mar. 2026
Verb
-
The district is also looking at how to pay for aging equipment including heating, ventilation and air conditioning, which could require at least $500,000 in budget increases.—
Fousia Abdullahi,
Fort Worth Star-Telegram,
2 Apr. 2026
-
Rabell said Hernandez’s mother, who lived at the property and ran it with her boyfriend, brought her before at least one ALF owner who was looking for a new resident.—
Carol Marbin Miller,
Miami Herald,
2 Apr. 2026
Verb
-
The piece is a collection of disused shoemaker boxes, once used by cobblers to keep tools, pressed against each other and stacked up, clambering toward the ceiling.—
Edna Bonhomme,
Artforum,
1 Oct. 2025
-
By the end of the night, so many fans had crowd-surfed from the pit to the stage, clambering onto the platform, that the band members were barely visible.—
Audrey Gibbs,
Nashville Tennessean,
16 Sep. 2025
Verb
-
Signaling progress in the peace talks, Axios reported that Washington and Tehran were engaged in discussions mediated by some Gulf states for a potential 45-day ceasefire that could end the conflict, although the odds for reaching a partial deal before the Tuesday deadline were slim.—
Anniek Bao,
CNBC,
6 Apr. 2026
-
Friday into the weekend are preliminarily expected to remain partly sunny, with highs reaching up into the 60s through Sunday, forecasts show.—
Grace Zokovitch,
Boston Herald,
6 Apr. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Scrabbling.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/scrabbling. Accessed 6 Apr. 2026.
Copy CitationLove words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
