scrums

noun

plural of scrum
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

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 scrums Erasmus emptied his bench in the third quarter and the fresh power showed in the increasingly one-sided scrums. — ABC News, 8 Aug. 2026 While viral videos poke fun, territorial scrums over scarce Costco spots can turn ugly, and sometimes violent. — Jessica Guynn, USA Today, 30 July 2026 Players participated in practice interviews, informal scrums and official press conferences throughout the weekend. — Dan Zaksheske Outkick, FOXNews.com, 28 July 2026 That increase, unlike in the Premier League in its 2025-26 season, is not primarily due to inswinging corners causing rugby-style scrums in the six-yard box. — Anantaajith Raghuraman, New York Times, 14 July 2026 That didn’t seem to dent the energy, with spontaneous Argentinian futbol songs breaking out among scrums of fans. — Matias Ocner, Miami Herald, 3 July 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 Rebounding was a recurring problem, leading to chaotic scrums in front of the net. — Kalen Lumpkins, Chicago Tribune, 23 May 2026 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
Recent Examples of Synonyms for scrums
  1. throngs
  2. skirmishes
  3. circuses
  4. swarms
  5. clashes
  6. messes
  7. hordes
  8. fights
Noun
  • Leo's visit to Paris came as a birthday present for Jean-Claude Farnabe, who turned 63 on Saturday and spent the morning securing a spot amid the throngs of people.
    — CBS News, CBS News, 26 Sep. 2026
  • The cows made their way to the altar — with the handlers helping to guide them with hay — through throngs of people and a few mascots sitting in seats and lined up on the streets, who stopped by just to see the unique occasion.
    — Kimberlee Speakman, PEOPLE, 28 Aug. 2026
Definition of throngs
Noun
  • Oasis’s Live ’25 was one of the biggest tours of the decade, marking the band’s first performances in 15 years after brothers Liam and Noel Gallagher’s intense skirmishes led to the band breaking up in 2009.
    — Ethan Millman, HollywoodReporter, 14 Sep. 2026
  • Asgari highlights these minor skirmishes through life itself (whether at its most verbose, or in complete silence) via minor aesthetic transformations which play in major keys, and prove deeply moving.
    — Siddhant Adlakha, Variety, 11 Sep. 2026
Definition of skirmishes
Noun
  • These feats would later move to circuses but, despite its proud history, strongman only became an official sport in 1977 with the inaugural World’s Strongest Man.
    — Rob Tanner, New York Times, 8 Sep. 2026
  • By now, not even third-rate circuses would hire me, much less an outfit like Hep Spyder’s, the World’s Famous Bushwick Circus.
    — Ingrid Vasquez, PEOPLE, 27 Aug. 2026
Definition of circuses
Noun
  • My interview with Altman had been arranged weeks earlier, just as the first revelations emerged about swarms of rogue AI agents conspiring to hack websites.
    — Alyson Shontell, Fortune, 5 Oct. 2026
  • Drone swarms were used to provide targeting information to ground units, while tactical UAVs, armed helicopters and unmanned ground vehicles coordinated attacks against simulated targets.
    — Bojan Stojkovski, Interesting Engineering, 4 Oct. 2026
Definition of swarms
Noun
  • The student rallies, now stretching into their third week after violent clashes with police, mass school closures and thousands of arrests, are expected to resume on Thursday.
    — Chloe Taylor, CNBC, 7 Oct. 2026
  • Democrat Keisha Lance Bottoms tried to make President Donald Trump the focus of one of the debate’s sharpest clashes.
    — AJC.com, AJC.com, 7 Oct. 2026
Definition of clashes
Noun
  • Rather than simply detecting physical obstacles, the system distinguishes between different types of messes and household objects to optimize cleaning strategies.
    — New Atlas, New Atlas, 29 Sep. 2026
  • Some messes don’t respond to a gentle approach, and there are times when cranking the temperature is exactly the right call.
    — Ryan Brennan, Sacbee.com, 28 Sep. 2026
Definition of messes
Noun
  • The twentieth century industrialized advisory through hordes of ambitious young graduates and an apprenticeship model that allowed advice to be sold by those with much less viabexperience.
    — Albert Mikkelsen, Forbes.com, 29 Sep. 2026
  • Outside of Hotel Chelsea, hordes of fans greeted this season’s cast, who have made the long-running series a cult favorite.
    — Lauren Sanchez, Vogue, 24 Sep. 2026
Definition of hordes
Noun
  • Two of Iowa’s four Republican House members, both in their own worrying reelection fights, had just broken with the president to vote to stop the war with Iran.
    — Natalie Allison, Washington Post, 6 Oct. 2026
  • The company stages live fights where people remotely control humanoid robots against other humanoid robots.
    — Kurt Knutsson, FOXNews.com, 5 Oct. 2026
Definition of fights

Browse Nearby Words

scrumptious
scrums
scrunch
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Cite this Entry

“Scrums.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/scrums. Accessed 9 Oct. 2026.

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