scramble

  • verb 1 move or make one’s way quickly and awkwardly, typically by using one’s hands as well as one’s feet. 2 make or become jumbled or muddled. 3 make (a broadcast transmission or telephone conversation) unintelligible unless received by an appropriate decoding device. 4 cook (beaten eggs with a little liquid) in a pan. 5 (with reference to fighter aircraft) take off or cause to take off immediately in an emergency or for action. 6 informal act in a hurried, disorderly, or undignified manner: firms scrambled to win contracts.

  • noun 1 an act of scrambling. 2 Brit. a motorcycle race over rough and hilly ground. 3 a disordered mixture.

  — ORIGIN imitative.

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