scramble

(skrăm'bəl)

v., -bled, -bling, -bles.

v.intr.

1. To move or climb hurriedly, especially on the hands and knees.
2. To struggle or contend frantically in order to get something: scrambled for the best seats.
3. To take off with all possible haste, as to intercept enemy aircraft.
4. Football.
   1. To run around with the ball behind the line of scrimmage in order to avoid being tackled while searching for an open receiver.
   2. To run forward with the ball when unable to complete an intended pass play. Used of a quarterback.

v.tr.

1. To mix or throw together haphazardly.
2. To gather together in a hurried or disorderly fashion.
3. To cook (beaten eggs) until firm but with a soft consistency.
4. Electronics. To distort or garble (a signal) so as to render it unintelligible without a special receiver.
5. To cause (aircraft) to take off as fast as possible, as to intercept enemy aircraft.

n.

1. The act or an instance of scrambling.
2. An arduous hike or climb over rough terrain.
3. An unceremonious scuffle or struggle.
4. Sports. See motocross.
5. A swift takeoff of military aircraft in response to an alert or attack.

[Perhaps blend of obsolete scamble, to struggle for, and dialectal cramble, to crawl.]

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verb

1. To move or climb hurriedly, especially on all fours: clamber. See move/halt.
2. To put into total disorder: ball up, confuse, disorder, jumble, mess up, muddle, snarl². Slang snafu. Idioms: play havoc with. See order/disorder.
3. To mix together so as to change the order of arrangement: jumble, shuffle. Games riffle. See change/persist, order/disorder.

noun

A lack of order or regular arrangement: chaos, clutter, confusedness, confusion, derangement, disarrangement, disarray, disorder, disorderedness, disorderliness, disorganization, jumble, mess, mix-up, muddle, muss, topsy-turviness, tumble. Slang snafu. See order/disorder.

n

Definition: mix-up, confusion
Antonyms: order, organization

v. 1. (often be scrambled) order (a fighter aircraft or its pilot) to take off immediately in an emergency or for action.

2. (of a fighter aircraft or its pilot) take off in such a way.

3. make (a broadcast transmission, a telephone message, or electronic data) unintelligible unless received by an appropriate decoding device: (scrambled) scrambled television signals.

n.

an emergency takeoff by fighter aircraft.

scrambling n.

See the Introduction, Abbreviations and Pronunciation for further details.

IN BRIEF: To mix, such as eggs; to run away, disperse.

This human struggle and scramble for office, for a way to live without work, will finally test the strength of our institutions. — Abraham Lincoln (1809-1865), American 16th U.S. president.

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i. To encrypt any plain-language message during the transmission process so as to make it unintelligible to a third party.
ii. The whole action involved in getting interceptors into the air in the shortest time possible, sometimes without adequate warm-up. For an air defense mission, aircraft ordered to scramble are given the initial vector; the course to roll out and the height to climb to are also indicated in the scramble call and follow the word scramble (e.g., “Mission 70 scramble, scramble, initial vector 070°, angels 10”). Angels 10 means 10,000 ft altitude.

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noun
noun

1: A rapid (or operational) take-off by a group of aircraft. (1940 —) . verb

2:
a: intr. Of an aircraft (esp. a fighter plane) or its crew: to effect such a take-off. (1940 —) .
Brennan & Hesselyn The signal to scramble came at about eleven o'clock....We rushed to our aircraft and in less than two minutes were off the ground (1942).

b: trans. To cause (a plane) to take off quickly. (1940 —) .

Previous:	scram, scrag, scout
Next:	scrambled egg, scran, scrap iron

For a list of words related to scramble, see:

• Voice Transmission and Telephony - scramble: (vb) alter signal to make it unintelligible without special unscrambling device
• Cooking Techniques - scramble: (vb) stir vigorously and then cook in pan while stirring
• Television Technology - scramble: (vb) encode audio or visual signal so that only certain subscribers can receive it
• Football
• Horse and Dog Racing
• Gaits - scramble: move or climb quickly, using hands and feet
• Fusses and Troubles

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See words rhyming with "scramble."

  See crossword solutions for the clue Scramble.

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Dansk (Danish)
v. intr. - kravle, klatre, løbe om kap, fare, skubbes, trænges
v. tr. - forvrænge, give ordre til øjeblikkelig start, skrabe sammen
n. - slagsmål, vild kamp, klatren, klatretur, kapløb, øjeblikkelig start, lynstart

Nederlands (Dutch)
klauteren, dringen, manoeuvreren, door elkaar gooien, improviseren, signaal verstoren

Français (French)
v. intr. - grimper, escalader, se disputer (des contrats, etc), se précipiter sur
v. tr. - mettre (qch) en désordre, emmêler, (Culin) faire des ¯ufs brouillés, (Radio, Télécom) brouiller (un signal), crypter, coder, (Mil) faire décoller (qch) d'urgence
n. - course, escalade, (Sport) motocross, (Aviat, Mil) décollage d'urgence

Deutsch (German)
v. - klettern, sich balgen, verschlüsseln, (sich) verstreuen
n. - Kletterei, Kampf

Ελληνική (Greek)
v. - ανακατεύω, σκαρφαλώνω, διαγκωνίζομαι, λακίζω, κρυπτογραφώ, (στρατ.) πραγματοποιώ άμεση απογείωση
n. - ανακάτεμα, σπρωξίδι, σκαρφάλωμα, δύσκολη αναρρίχηση ή πορεία, πιλάλα, συναγερμός

Italiano (Italian)
arrampicarsi, strapazzare, codificare, mescolare, lottare, decollare in fretta (aeron.)

Português (Portuguese)
v. - amontoar
n. - subida (f), luta desordenada (f)

Русский (Russian)
карабканье, взлет, борьба (за овладение чем-л.), мотокросс, карабкаться, пробираться, быстро взлетать, устраивать свалку, бороться (за овладение чем-л.), взбалтывать, зашифровывать передачу

Español (Spanish)
v. intr. - gatear, trepar, revolver, correr, empujarse, luchar
v. tr. - arrebatar, recoger precipitadamente, subir gateando, mezclar, barajar, hacer un revoltillo (de huevos)
n. - lucha, acción de trepar o gatear

Svenska (Swedish)
v. - klättra, kravla, krångla sig fram, rusa, kivas, hafsa, blanda, göra äggröra på
n. - mödosam klättring, klättrande, kravlande, rusning, slagsmål, kiv, virrvarr

中文（简体）(Chinese (Simplified))
攀缘, 争夺, 杂乱蔓延, 攀登, 使混杂, 搅乱, 爬行, 抢夺

中文（繁體）(Chinese (Traditional))
v. intr. - 攀緣, 爭奪, 雜亂蔓延
v. tr. - 攀登, 使混雜, 攪亂
n. - 爬行, 搶奪, 攀緣

한국어 (Korean)
v. intr. - 기어오르다, (자기편의 엄호 없이) 돌진하다, 갑자기 움직이다
v. tr. - 서둘러 긁어 모으다, 마구 뒤섞다, (달걀에) 버터 따위를 넣고 휘저어 익히다
n. - 기어 오름, 쟁탈, 스크램블 (도청 방지를 위해 주파수를 변경하는 것)

日本語 (Japanese)
v. - はい進む, はい登る, 奪い合う, 先を争う, 周波数を変える, かきまぜる, かきまぜながら焼く, 緊急発進する, 這う, よじのぼる
n. - はい進むこと, よじ登ること, 争って取ること, 先を争うこと, 緊急発進

العربيه (Arabic)
‏(فعل) يمزج, يزحف (الاسم) زحف‏

עברית (Hebrew)
v. intr. - ‮פעל בצורה לא-יעילה, המריא במהירות במצב חירום או לפעולה, פילס דרך בשטח קשה, נע בקושי, נע בפזיזות‬
v. tr. - ‮טיפס, זחל, ערבב, דחף, נדחק, נאבק, החליף תדר במשדר או בטלפון כדי להצפין את המסר‬
n. - ‮מירוץ שדה של אופנועים, הידחקות, טיפוס קשה, הליכה קשה, המראת חירום של מטוס-קרב‬

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