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| scrabble [ skrább'l ] |
verb (3rd person present singular scrabbles, present participle scrabbling, past and past participle scrabbled) |
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| Definition: |
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1. intransitive verb scratch at something: to scrape or scratch at something with small, hurried movements of the fingers, toes, or claws
  The cat was scrabbling at the door.
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2. intransitive verb feel with fingers: to grope about frantically in an effort to find something
She scrabbled around trying to find the torch.
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3. intransitive verb climb over something: to climb hastily or clumsily up or over something
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4. intransitive verb struggle to get something: to struggle desperately to get something
scrabbling for enough money to make ends meet
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5. transitive verb produce something with difficulty: to produce something hastily and with difficulty from scarce resources
scrabble together a meal
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6. transitive and intransitive verb scribble: to scribble something
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noun (plural scrabbles) |
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| Definition: |
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1. act of scratching: a scraping or scratching at something with short hurried movements of the fingers, toes, or claws
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2. a search with fingers: a frantic groping about in an effort to find something
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3. hasty climb: a climb up or over something, performed hastily or clumsily
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4. desperate struggle: a desperate struggle to acquire or gain something
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5. scribbling: a scribbling of something
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6. something scribbled: something that somebody has scribbled
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| [Mid-16th century. < Middle Dutch schrabbelen 'scratch repeatedly' < schrabben 'scratch, scrape'] |
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| scrabbler noun |
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