/ ˈskræmbl; NAmE / verb , noun
■ verb
WALK / CLIMB
1.
[ v + adv. / prep. ] to move quickly, especially with difficulty, using your hands to help you
SYN clamber :
She managed to scramble over the wall.
He scrambled to his feet as we came in.
PUSH / FIGHT
2.
scramble (for sth) to push, fight or compete with others in order to get or to reach sth :
[ v ]
The audience scrambled for the exits.
[ v to inf ]
Shoppers were scrambling to get the best bargains.
ACHIEVE STH WITH DIFFICULTY
3.
[ vn ] to manage to achieve sth with difficulty, or in a hurry, without much control :
Cork scrambled a 1–0 win over Monaghan.
Owen managed to scramble the ball into the net.
EGGS
4.
[ vn ] [ usually passive ] to cook an egg by mixing the white and yellow parts together and heating them, sometimes with milk and butter :
scrambled eggs
TELEPHONE / RADIO
5.
[ vn ] [ often passive ] to change the way that a telephone or radio message sounds so that only people with special equipment can understand it :
scrambled satellite signals
CONFUSE THOUGHTS
6.
[ vn ] to confuse sb's thoughts, ideas, etc. so that they have no order :
Alcohol seemed to have scrambled his brain.
AIRCRAFT
7.
[ usually passive ] to order that planes, etc. should take off immediately in an emergency; to take off immediately in an emergency :
[ vn ]
A helicopter was scrambled to help rescue three young climbers.
[ v ]
They scrambled as soon as the call came through.
■ noun
DIFFICULT WALK / CLIMB
1.
[ sing. ] a difficult walk or climb over rough ground, especially one in which you have to use your hands
PUSH / FIGHT
2.
[ sing. ] scramble (for sth) a situation in which people push, fight or compete with each other in order to get or do sth
SYN free for all :
There was a mad scramble for the best seats.
MOTORCYCLE RACE
3.
[ C ] a race for motorcycles over rough ground
••
WORD ORIGIN
late 16th cent.: imitative; compare with the dialect words scamble stumble and cramble crawl .