MEANING
To scratch or claw hurriedly in an effort to gain purchase, move, or find something.
Use it for
A trapped body's failed grip; claws on a barrier; desperate attempts to riseLet repeated contact expose physical difficulty without naming fear.
Words that belong together
- scrabble at the door
- scrabble for a hold
- scrabbling claws
On the page
Claws scrabbled against the inner surface of the lid.
He scrabbled for purchase on the slick floor.
Something was scrabbling at the door from too low a height.
Nearby words
Related words
Word forms
- Base
- scrabble / scrabbles
- Past tense
- scrabbled
- Past participle
- scrabbled
- Present participle
- scrabbling
Full tense & aspect guide
- Present
- scrabble / scrabbles
- Present continuous
- am/is/are scrabbling
- Present perfect
- have/has scrabbled
- Present perfect continuous
- have/has been scrabbling
- Past
- scrabbled
- Past continuous
- was/were scrabbling
- Past perfect
- had scrabbled
- Past perfect continuous
- had been scrabbling
- Future
- will scrabble / scrabbles
- Future continuous
- will be scrabbling
- Future perfect
- will have scrabbled
- Future perfect continuous
- will have been scrabbling
Choose the auxiliary that agrees with your subject. These are constructions of one word, not separate entries.
Usage notes
Primary category: horror. Emphasizes unsuccessful grasping or frantic surface contact, not smooth crawling. Can describe hands, claws, or feet without implying an emotion diagnosis. Verb [base, third-person present, past, past participle, -ing]: scrabble, scrabbles, scrabbled, scrabbled, scrabbling.
Practice this word in a sentenceYour margin notes
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