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
Synonyms & Similar Words
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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
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
3
as in bedlam
British
a place of uproar or confusion
London's tube is quite a scrum during rush hour
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of scrum
In the middle of the scrum, an agent secured a handgun.
—
National Correspondent, Los Angeles Times, 28 Jan. 2026
An eight‑group boarding structure is replacing the find-your-own-seat scrum.
—Rio Yamat, Fortune, 28 Jan. 2026
First, there’s La Réserve Firenze, which is taking over a 15th-century palace in the city’s ever-buzzy Oltrarno district, just a few minutes’ walk from the centre, but mercifully removed from the high summer tourist scrum.
—Anna Grace Lee, Vogue, 27 Jan. 2026
Another agent, wearing a grey jacket, can be seen from some camera angles reaching into the scrum of other officers and retrieving a weapon that seems to match the firearm the DHS says Pretti possessed.
—Thomas Bordeaux, CNN Money, 25 Jan. 2026
See All Example Sentences for scrum
National Correspondent, Los Angeles Times, 28 Jan. 2026
An eight‑group boarding structure is replacing the find-your-own-seat scrum.
—Rio Yamat, Fortune, 28 Jan. 2026
First, there’s La Réserve Firenze, which is taking over a 15th-century palace in the city’s ever-buzzy Oltrarno district, just a few minutes’ walk from the centre, but mercifully removed from the high summer tourist scrum.
—Anna Grace Lee, Vogue, 27 Jan. 2026
Another agent, wearing a grey jacket, can be seen from some camera angles reaching into the scrum of other officers and retrieving a weapon that seems to match the firearm the DHS says Pretti possessed.
—Thomas Bordeaux, CNN Money, 25 Jan. 2026
See All Example Sentences for scrum
Recent Examples of Synonyms for scrum
Noun
-
Diabate went right back at Duren, and a throng of bodies assembled.—
Roderick Boone,
Charlotte Observer,
10 Feb. 2026
-
The 59-year-old grumbled that gladhanding throngs of supporters in dusty villages had left him prey to bugs and viruses.—
Charlie Campbell,
Time,
9 Feb. 2026
Noun
-
Instead, an arcane academic skirmish has devolved into open hostilities.—
Gideon Lewis-Kraus,
New Yorker,
9 Feb. 2026
-
Meanwhile, in Milan, a skirmish broke out between police and demonstrators at the end of a protest that police said, according to The Associated Press, initially numbered 10,000 and was peaceful.—
Denny Alfonso,
New York Times,
8 Feb. 2026
Noun
-
Another centered on a teenage girl (Chloë Sevigny doppelgänger Emma Halleen), whose insecurities blind her to a life that is, on its surface, pretty good, finds a palpable sadness within the bedlam of the show.—
Daniel Fienberg,
HollywoodReporter,
21 Jan. 2026
-
Its trading floor — the setting for most of the hostile financial bedlam — was last seen smothered in tarpaulin while awaiting closure after the bank was acquired by an Egyptian sovereign wealth fund.—
Alex Ritman,
Variety,
5 Jan. 2026
Noun
-
At one point, a song disparaging Noem and serving as an anti-ICE anthem that’s been widely circulated on social media could be heard coming from a crowd gathered outside the stadium.—
Los Angeles Times,
Los Angeles Times,
9 Feb. 2026
-
The box defrosted after the game in front of a crowd that gathered on all sides in the final minutes of the countdown.—
Madeline Coleman,
New York Times,
9 Feb. 2026
Noun
-
The head of Yemen's ruling leadership council has named a new cabinet, weeks after deadly clashes in the country's south and the dissolution of a separatist group.—
Arkansas Online,
Arkansas Online,
8 Feb. 2026
-
The march then diverted left onto Via Benaco, moving away from the Village with clashes beginning when the protest reached Piazzale Corvetto.—
Antonia Mortensen,
CNN Money,
7 Feb. 2026
Noun
-
In the fourth quarter, Soldier Field was an absolute madhouse with 60,000-plus waving towels, chewing fingernails, frothing at the mouth and … grating cheese?—
Jon Greenberg,
New York Times,
11 Jan. 2026
-
Instead of the orgiastic madhouse that fans of Monster and American Horror Story have grown accustomed to, Devil in Disguise is a somber affair, as aesthetically chilly as a December in Des Plaines, Illinois.—
Daniel Fienberg,
HollywoodReporter,
15 Oct. 2025
Noun
-
Bodies were found throughout the building, some stacked on top of one another, with swarms of bugs and decomposition fluid covering the floors, investigators said.—
Jesse Bedayn,
Los Angeles Times,
7 Feb. 2026
-
In September, a swarm of Russian drones flew into Poland's airspace, prompting NATO aircraft to scramble to intercept them and shoot down some of the devices.—
DEMOCRAT-GAZETTE STAFF FROM WIRE REPORTS,
Arkansas Online,
6 Feb. 2026
Noun
-
The star of the cache was a near-complete Iron Age battle trumpet, or carnyx — used to blare eerie sounds in battle and rally troops against the enemy.—
Andrea Margolis,
FOXNews.com,
6 Feb. 2026
-
Alain Hamel is credited with catching the giant flatfish, which was pulled through the ice after a two-and-a-half hour battle.—
Dac Collins,
Outdoor Life,
5 Feb. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Scrum.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/scrum. Accessed 15 Feb. 2026.
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