Search results for 'scramble':

scramble verb (scrambled, scrambling) 1 intrans to crawl or climb using hands and feet, especially hurriedly or frantically. 2 intrans to struggle violently against others • There are starving people scrambling to find food. 3 to get along or cope somehow • We'll just have to scramble through. 4 to cook (eggs) whisked up with milk, butter, etc. 5 to throw or jumble together haphazardly. 6 to rewrite (a message) in code form, for secret transmission. 7 to transmit (a message) in a distorted form intelligible only by means of an electronic scrambler. 8 intrans said of military aircraft or air crew: to take off immediately in response to an emergency. noun 1 an act of scrambling. 2 a dash or struggle to beat others in getting something. 3 a disorderly or chaotic performance. 4 a walk or hike over rough ground. 5 an immediate take-off in an emergency. 6 a cross-country motorcar or motorcycle race. scrambling adj, noun.
ETYMOLOGY: 16c: from dialect scramb to rake together with the hands.