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
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of scrum
The eventual winners — Democrat Xavier Becerra and Republican Steve Hilton — only emerged from a large scrum of candidates in the final months of the campaign.
—
Ben Paviour,
Sacbee.com,
24 June 2026
Corlys and Lohar find each other in the scrum and both land powerful blows before Corlys is thrown into the sea, leaving Alyn of Hull to finish off his father’s enemy.
—
Amanda Whiting,
Vulture,
22 June 2026
The media scrums around each player reflected their importance, with constant jostling for the right positioning of microphones and cameras.
—
Shreyas Laddha,
Kansas City Star,
22 June 2026
But only one of them could play at scrum-half.
—
Jack Pitt-Brooke,
New York Times,
21 June 2026
See All Example Sentences for scrum
Ben Paviour,
Sacbee.com,
24 June 2026
Corlys and Lohar find each other in the scrum and both land powerful blows before Corlys is thrown into the sea, leaving Alyn of Hull to finish off his father’s enemy.
—
Amanda Whiting,
Vulture,
22 June 2026
The media scrums around each player reflected their importance, with constant jostling for the right positioning of microphones and cameras.
—
Shreyas Laddha,
Kansas City Star,
22 June 2026
But only one of them could play at scrum-half.
—
Jack Pitt-Brooke,
New York Times,
21 June 2026
See All Example Sentences for scrum
Recent Examples of Synonyms for scrum
Noun
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Tour guides in tricorn hats and colonial garb brought throngs of tourists to sites along the Freedom Trail, including the Granary Burying Ground, the Old North Church, and Paul Revere’s home.
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Tomorrow may be even more surreal, with another day of oppressive heat and throngs of tourists in town to see what the president has billed as the biggest fireworks display in human history.
Noun
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The skirmishes date back to shortly after Haaland’s arrival at Manchester City in July 2022.
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Indiana Fever star Sophie Cunningham’s point toward Phoenix Mercury forward DeWanna Bonner amid a heated skirmish during their game has gone mega viral.
Noun
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The scene around me was one of utter bedlam, with stadium officials even joining in the celebrations.
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If the Spurs stave off elimination, Johnson presenting the trophy to the Knicks at home after a Game 6 win on Tuesday could surpass the bedlam from the comeback.
Noun
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The plebeians have plenty to be furious about, but their representatives, skilled at turning a crowd into a mob, seem hellbent on shoring up their own influence.
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Large-scale events involve tabletop exercises with law enforcement, fire departments, emergency managers and venue officials running through countless scenarios — evacuations, suspicious packages, drones and crowd surges.
Noun
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But Kubo hasn’t played since suffering a meniscus tear in Japan’s opener against the Netherlands, and yesterday he was ruled out for the Brazil clash.
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At the heart of the clash is how to manage wild horse populations that can reproduce at a rapid clip.
Noun
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Headphones are often my saving grace in this madhouse.
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In practice, this means a madhouse of multimedia rooms, packed with gurgling videos and useless machines and humanoid bodies.
Noun
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Their strategy focuses on low-cost drone swarms, maximizing pilot effectiveness.
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Every wedding, every cherry blossom season in Japan, every birth, reactor accidents too, swarms of insects, kittens playing with woolen balls, people disfigured by war, palm trees at sunset—five billion photos a day.
Noun
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True, nothing so grand as a massive dragon and naval battle took place, but seeing Rhaenyra start to change into someone almost unrecognizable from her younger, more innocent self was compelling in a deeper way.
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There have been naval battles and beheadings and aerial battles and, well, more beheadings.
Cite this Entry
“Scrum.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/scrum. Accessed 6 Jul. 2026.
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