1
as in throngs
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 skirmishes
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 madhouses
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 scrums
No awkward scrums with the media grilling him about a slump Saturday morning ahead of Game 3 of this second-round Stanley Cup Playoffs series against the Minnesota Wild at Grand Casino Arena.
—
Corey Masisak, Denver Post, 9 May 2026
The scrums and after-whistle activity that defined the first period of Game 2 and much of Game 1 simply were not there in Game 3, with the Lightning seemingly content to play between the whistles in an effort to avoid handing the Canadiens power plays in bunches.
—Arpon Basu, New York Times, 25 Apr. 2026
The game featured several scrums after the whistle, a spirited fight between Montreal’s Josh Anderson and Tampa Bay’s Declan Carlile, and seven 10-minute misconducts — culminating in 126 penalty minutes.
—ABC News, 9 Apr. 2026
Lawmakers have cycled through classified briefings, TV interviews and hallway scrums with reporters, but have taken little formal action related to Trump’s war efforts — just two unsuccessful votes aimed at limiting the conflict.
—Ana Ceballos
follow, Los Angeles Times, 15 Mar. 2026
The heat turned up in the second, with a few post-whistle scrums, then a full-on fight between Wild defenseman Jake Middleton and Knights winger Keegan Kolesar that earned each of them a five-minute timeout.
—Jess Myers, Twin Cities, 7 Mar. 2026
Not just tall, the physical trio of defensive midfielder Tverskov (6-1,183 pounds), defender Chris McVey (6-3 ½ , 181 pounds) and forward Marcus Ingvartsen (6-1 ½, 168 pounds) can thrive in scrums.
—Tom Krasovic, San Diego Union-Tribune, 11 Feb. 2026
Despite that, Concepcion always embraced his time in media scrums, shook everyone's hand before and after and showed confidence while doing so.
—Tony Catalina, Austin American Statesman, 27 Jan. 2026
And while this particular standoff has been unusually drawn out, the sticking points wouldn’t be unfamiliar to anyone who’s participated in one of the hundreds of similar scrums that have taken place since the dawn of the cable bundle.
—Anthony Crupi, Sportico.com, 14 Nov. 2025
Corey Masisak, Denver Post, 9 May 2026
The scrums and after-whistle activity that defined the first period of Game 2 and much of Game 1 simply were not there in Game 3, with the Lightning seemingly content to play between the whistles in an effort to avoid handing the Canadiens power plays in bunches.
—Arpon Basu, New York Times, 25 Apr. 2026
The game featured several scrums after the whistle, a spirited fight between Montreal’s Josh Anderson and Tampa Bay’s Declan Carlile, and seven 10-minute misconducts — culminating in 126 penalty minutes.
—ABC News, 9 Apr. 2026
Lawmakers have cycled through classified briefings, TV interviews and hallway scrums with reporters, but have taken little formal action related to Trump’s war efforts — just two unsuccessful votes aimed at limiting the conflict.
—Ana Ceballos
follow, Los Angeles Times, 15 Mar. 2026
The heat turned up in the second, with a few post-whistle scrums, then a full-on fight between Wild defenseman Jake Middleton and Knights winger Keegan Kolesar that earned each of them a five-minute timeout.
—Jess Myers, Twin Cities, 7 Mar. 2026
Not just tall, the physical trio of defensive midfielder Tverskov (6-1,183 pounds), defender Chris McVey (6-3 ½ , 181 pounds) and forward Marcus Ingvartsen (6-1 ½, 168 pounds) can thrive in scrums.
—Tom Krasovic, San Diego Union-Tribune, 11 Feb. 2026
Despite that, Concepcion always embraced his time in media scrums, shook everyone's hand before and after and showed confidence while doing so.
—Tony Catalina, Austin American Statesman, 27 Jan. 2026
And while this particular standoff has been unusually drawn out, the sticking points wouldn’t be unfamiliar to anyone who’s participated in one of the hundreds of similar scrums that have taken place since the dawn of the cable bundle.
—Anthony Crupi, Sportico.com, 14 Nov. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for scrums
Noun
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In general, juvenile crimes are more often committed with others, and images of roaming throngs of teens has an outsized presence in media and in the public’s amygdala.—
Eric Levenson,
CNN Money,
9 May 2026
-
Leo was met by throngs of cheering Italians, some of whom had been waiting since the middle of the night to greet him.—
ABC News,
ABC News,
8 May 2026
Noun
-
Tempers flared between the teams, leading to a couple of skirmishes.—
Adam Thompson,
CBS News,
18 May 2026
-
Here are some photos from the second of three skirmishes in this always entertaining Show Me State clash.—
Jeff Rosen,
Kansas City Star,
16 May 2026
Noun
-
Scientists have developed living microrobot swarms made from algae and nanoparticles that can assemble into custom shapes under blue light and disperse on command with red light.—
Neetika Walter,
Interesting Engineering,
15 May 2026
-
Subterranean, drywood and dampwood, the three most common types of termites in the United States, all have reproductive castes capable of flying in swarms.—
Amaris Encinas,
USA Today,
14 May 2026
Noun
-
The protest turned violent with clashes breaking out between pro-Palestinian supporters, who were protesting an event hosted by the synagogue to promote land for sale in Israel, and pro-Israel counterprotesters.—
Rebecca Ellis,
Los Angeles Times,
18 May 2026
-
Widespread protests followed, along with some clashes between demonstrators and law enforcement and the deployment of the National Guard.—
Marlene Lenthang,
NBC news,
18 May 2026
Noun
-
Mikael Granlund’s goal was an unfortunate hop, and the third goal, which was scored by Ian Moore, was a wobbling slap shot through hordes of traffic.—
Eric Stephens,
New York Times,
12 May 2026
-
Through the project, hordes of people were confronted with the biases of facial recognition technology for the first time.—
Louis Bury,
ARTnews.com,
1 May 2026
Noun
-
The ultimate goal, organizers said, is to win more elections, sway policy fights and protect diverse political representation at all levels.—
CBS News,
CBS News,
17 May 2026
-
The biggest issue with these Netflix stunt-fights, aside from the age and condition of the fighters, is that the main event takes forever to start.—
Marlow Stern,
Variety,
17 May 2026
Noun
-
In terms of performances and safety, the Triton Troupers Circus is like other circuses.—
Myrna Petlicki,
Chicago Tribune,
2 Apr. 2026
-
As a teen-ager, Batten was the president of Animal Connection of Texas, an animal-rights nonprofit, and lobbied for restrictions on travelling circuses.—
Rachel Monroe,
New Yorker,
26 Mar. 2026
Noun
-
The album, which of course features flocks of pigeons on the cover, boasts a tighter, fuller sound than previous releases, thanks in part to production by Kenneth Blume (Geese, Idles) and Klas Åhlund (Iggy Pop, Katy Perry).—
Kory Grow,
Rolling Stone,
14 May 2026
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Storms are also very structured and denser than flocks of birds.—
Marta Hill,
Scientific American,
13 May 2026
Cite this Entry
“Scrums.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/scrums. Accessed 22 May. 2026.
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