/ ˈskræbl; NAmE / verb
[ v , usually + adv. / prep. ] scrabble (around / about) (for sth) ( especially BrE ) to try to find or to do sth in a hurry or with difficulty, often by moving your hands or feet about quickly, without much control :
She scrabbled around in her bag for her glasses.
He was scrabbling for a foothold on the steep slope.
a sound like rats scrabbling on the other side of the wall
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WORD ORIGIN
mid 16th cent. (in the sense make marks at random, scrawl ): from Middle Dutch schrabbelen , frequentative of schrabben to scrape.