scrambled

8 definitions • 9 examples

past simple and past participle of

to move or climb quickly but with difficulty, often using your hands to help you:

scramble up/over She scrambled up the steep hillside and over the rocks.

scramble into He scrambled into his clothes (= put them on quickly) and raced to get help.

scramble for As the burning plane landed, the terrified passengers scrambled for the door (= tried to reach the door quickly).

to compete with other people for something there is very little of:

[ + to infinitive ] People are scrambling to buy property before prices rise even further.

(of a quarterback in American football) to run quickly with the ball to avoid an opponent who has broken through the line of players that protects them:

The quarterback saw the defender coming and scrambled to his right for six yards.

to put things such as words or letters in the wrong order so that they do not make sense:

He had a habit of scrambling his words when excited.

to mix food as it is being fried, especially eggs or tofu (= a soft, pale food that has very little flavour but is high in protein, made from the seed of the soya plant):

I’m sure this dish would be just as delicious if you scrambled the eggs first.

You can use any kind of tofu when scrambling it.

to change a radio or phone signal so that it can only be understood using a special device

to (cause a plane to) take off very quickly:

A helicopter was scrambled within minutes of the news.