scrabble

 
Pronunciation: /ˈskrab(ə)l/

verb

[no object]
  • scratch or grope around with one’s fingers to find, collect, or hold on to something: she scrabbled at the grassy slope, desperate for purchase
  • (of an animal) scratch at something with its claws: a lonely dog was scrabbling at the door
  • [with adverbial of direction] scramble or crawl quickly: lizards scrabbling across the walls

noun

  • 1 [in singular] an act of scratching or scrambling for something: he heard the scrabble of claws behind him
  • 2 (Scrabble) [mass noun] trademark a game in which players build up words on a board from small lettered squares or tiles.

Origin:

mid 16th century (in the sense 'make marks at random, scrawl'): from Middle Dutch schrabbelen, frequentative of schrabben 'to scrape'. The noun sense 'struggle to achieve something' is originally a North American usage dating from the late 18th century