scrum

noun

ˈskrəm 

1

a

or scrummage

ˈskrə-mij 

: a rugby play in which the forwards of each side come together in a tight formation and struggle to gain possession of the ball using their feet when it is tossed in among them

also : the arrangement of players in a scrum

b

: a usually brief and disorderly struggle or fight : scrape, scuffle

2

a

British : madhouse sense 2

b

: a usually tightly packed or disorderly crowd : throng

scrummage intransitive verb

Synonyms of scrum

• throng
• crowd
• swarm
• flock
• horde
• mob

Examples of scrum in a Sentence

I had to fight my way through the scrum of holiday shoppers at the mall.

when the server spilled a drink on a customer, they got into a bit of a scrum before being separated

Recent Examples on the Web

Breaking work into small pieces and running it through scrums and sprints was how teams offset the sheer cost of human coding hours. — Tim Lee, Forbes.com, 6 Oct. 2026

That Missouri man entered into a scrum at the line of scrimmage. — Noah White, Miami Herald, 4 Oct. 2026

After a passenger grabbed the copilot and pulled him out, and others grappled with the man to subdue him, Schlichter said that one of the traveling pilots practically hurtled the scrum to enter the cockpit and seize the controls. — ABC News, 3 Oct. 2026

When Walker bounced out of a fourth and 1 scrum and bolted 60 yards for a touchdown in the Chiefs’ 31-10 trouncing of Denver, all at once the astounding was entirely familiar. — Kansas City Star, 18 Sep. 2026

Word History

Etymology

short for scrummage, alteration of scrimmage

First Known Use

1848, in the meaning defined at sense 1a

Rhymes for scrum

• bum
• chum
• come
• crum
• cum
• drum
• dum
• dumb
• from
• frum
• glum
• gum