Meanings
scrum1
plural scrums
- A tightly packed and disorderly crowd of people.
A scrum developed around the bar when free beer was announced.
- CanadaA tightly packed group of reporters surrounding a person, usually a politician, asking for comments about an issue; an opportunity provided for a politician to be approached this way.
A scrum formed around Scott Brison in the House of Commons lobby shortly after he announced his candidacy for the federal Liberal leadership.
- Hostile shoving between two groups.
1 more example
[A] group of far-right lawmakers tried to mark Jerusalem Day by forcing their way into the street inhabited by the Palestinians listed for eviction. A group of leftist and Arab lawmakers blocked their path, setting off a brief scrum, before at least one far-right lawmaker ... broke through the Arabs' lines.
2021 May 11, Patrick Kingsley, Isabel Kershner, “After Raid on Aqsa Mosque, Rockets From Gaza and Israeli Airstrikes”, in New York Times
present singular third person scrums · participle present scrumming · participle past scrummed · past scrummed
- intransitiveball gamesTo form a scrum.
- computingAlternative letter-case form of Scrum.
Scrum2
alternative SCRUM · alternative scrum
- computingAn iterative and incremental agile software development method for managing software projects and product or application development.
SCRUM3
- computingAlternative letter-case form of Scrum.
Synonyms & antonyms
nounIn rugby union or rugby league, all the forwards joined together in an organised way.
More synonyms by meaning
noun(rugby) the method of beginning play in which the forwards of each team crouch side by side with locked arms; play starts when the ball is thrown in between them and the two sides compete for possession
Synonym sets from Open English WordNet, CC BY 4.0.
Origin
Either a back-formation from or an apocopic form of scrummage, a variant of scrimmage.
Full word history & related roots →Translations
Basque uztartze
- uztartze(rugby) all the forwards joined together in an organised way
Catalan melé
- melé(rugby) all the forwards joined together in an organised way
Czech dav, skrumáž
- dava tightly packed and disorderly crowd of people
- skrumáža tightly packed and disorderly crowd of people
- návala tightly packed and disorderly crowd of people
- tlačenicea tightly packed and disorderly crowd of people
- klubkoa tightly packed and disorderly crowd of people
- mlýn(rugby) all the forwards joined together in an organised way
Danish klynge, klynge
- klyngea tightly packed and disorderly crowd of people
- klynge(rugby) all the forwards joined together in an organised way
Finnish tungos, aloitus
- tungosa tightly packed and disorderly crowd of people
- aloitus(rugby) all the forwards joined together in an organised way
French scrum, mêlée
- scrum(Canada) a tightly packed group of reporters surrounding a spokesperson
- mêlée(rugby) all the forwards joined together in an organised way
German Gedränge, Rummelei
- Gedrängea tightly packed and disorderly crowd of people
- Rummeleia tightly packed and disorderly crowd of people
- Getümmela tightly packed and disorderly crowd of people
Irish clibirt
- clibirt(rugby) all the forwards joined together in an organised way
Italian ressa, calca
- ressaa tightly packed and disorderly crowd of people
- calcaa tightly packed and disorderly crowd of people
- mischia chiusa(rugby) all the forwards joined together in an organised way
Japanese スクラム, 報道陣
- スクラム (sukuramu)a tightly packed and disorderly crowd of people
- 報道陣 (hōdōjin)(Canada) a tightly packed group of reporters surrounding a spokesperson
- スクラム (sukuramu)(rugby) all the forwards joined together in an organised way
Māori kakari, kirimiti
- kakari(rugby) all the forwards joined together in an organised way
- kirimiti(rugby) all the forwards joined together in an organised way
- nonoke(rugby) all the forwards joined together in an organised way
Polish tłum, ścisk
- tłuma tightly packed and disorderly crowd of people
- ściska tightly packed and disorderly crowd of people
- młyn(rugby) all the forwards joined together in an organised way
Romanian meleu, grămadă
- meleu(rugby) all the forwards joined together in an organised way
- grămadă(rugby) all the forwards joined together in an organised way
Russian скопище, столпотворение
- скопище (skopišče)a tightly packed and disorderly crowd of people
- столпотворение (stolpotvorenije)a tightly packed and disorderly crowd of people
Swedish klunga
- klungaa tightly packed and disorderly crowd of people
Rhymes & wordplay
Rhymes with scrum
All rhymes →Cite this entry
scrum. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 3, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/scrum
“scrum.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/scrum. Accessed November 3, 2026.
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “scrum,” accessed November 3, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/scrum.
Source: scrum on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.