scoot

B2 Topic:Actions & Processes

US /skuːt/ UK /skuːt/ See IPA manual

Meanings

1

verb
to move quickly or hastily, often with a sense of urgency or excitement

The children scooted off to play as soon as the bell rang.
2

verb
to slide or shift over slightly, often to make room for someone or something

Could you scoot over a bit so I can sit down?
3

verb
(informal) to leave quickly

I'd better scoot before it gets dark.

Verb forms

Verb forms are not available for this word yet.

Thesaurus

Synonyms

1 verb · to move quickly or hastily,... dash hurry zip bolt rush

2 verb · to slide or shift over... shuffle slide slip nudge budge

3 verb · (informal) to leave quickly skedaddlescramclear outtake offmake tracks

Opposites

dawdle linger stay

Etymology

scoot (informal Modern English, 'to move quickly or slide over'); origin uncertain, attested from the 18th century, possibly of Scandinavian origin.

Topics

Actions & Processes Register & Style

External links

# scoot

**Type:** Word
**Level:** B2
**Part of speech:** verb
**IPA (US):** /skuːt/
**IPA (UK):** /skuːt/

## Meanings
1. to move quickly or hastily, often with a sense of urgency or excitement
2. to slide or shift over slightly, often to make room for someone or something
3. (informal) to leave quickly

## Examples
- The children scooted off to play as soon as the bell rang.
- Could you scoot over a bit so I can sit down?
- I'd better scoot before it gets dark.

## Synonyms
- dash
- hurry
- zip
- bolt
- rush
- shuffle
- slide
- slip
- nudge
- budge
- skedaddle
- scram

## Antonyms
- dawdle
- linger
- stay

## Etymology
scoot (informal Modern English, 'to move quickly or slide over'); origin uncertain, attested from the 18th century, possibly of Scandinavian origin.

## AI Etymology
Scoot is a informal Modern English word meaning 'to move quickly or slide over', origin uncertain, attested from the 18th century, possibly of Scandinavian origin. In current use it is a verb meaning "to move quickly or hastily, often with a sense of urgency or excitement". That sense is explained by the older material without requiring a speculative semantic step: the inherited or borrowed base supplies the field of meaning, while the English formation fixes its modern role. The uncertainty belongs to the etymology itself and should be kept: the older ancestry is not presented as more secure than it is. The safest dictionary treatment is to keep the secure forms and the uncertainty together, since the doubtful step is part of the word's history rather than a gap to fill by guesswork.

## Topics
- Actions & Processes
- Register & Style

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