scurry

C2+ Topic:Actions & Processes

Also spelled skurried and skurrying

US /ˈskɝi/ UK /ˈskʌri/ See IPA manual

Meanings

1

verb
to move hurriedly with quick short steps

Mice scurry into the walls at the first flick of the light.

Verb forms

Verb forms are not available for this word yet.

Thesaurus

Synonyms

1 verb · to move hurriedly with... scamper scuttle dash hurry scramble hasten dart

Opposites

amble saunter dawdle stroll

Word family

Derived forms scurrying

Related forms hurry-scurry

Etymology

Mid-19th century, a shortening of 'hurry-scurry', a reduplication of 'hurry'.

Topics

Actions & Processes Word Formation & Derivatives

External links

# scurry

**Type:** Word
**Level:** C2+
**Part of speech:** verb
**IPA (US):** /ˈskɝi/
**IPA (UK):** /ˈskʌri/

## Meanings
1. to move hurriedly with quick short steps

## Examples
- Mice scurry into the walls at the first flick of the light.

## Synonyms
- scamper
- scuttle
- dash
- hurry
- scramble
- hasten
- dart

## Antonyms
- amble
- saunter
- dawdle
- stroll

## Derived Forms
- scurrying

## Related Forms
- hurry-scurry

## Etymology
Mid-19th century, a shortening of 'hurry-scurry', a reduplication of 'hurry'.

## AI Etymology
Scurry is from mid-19th century, a shortening of 'hurry-scurry', a reduplication of 'hurry'. Older glosses in the chain include "hurry-scurry" and "hurry", which help explain the semantic range of the modern word. In current English it functions as a verb and noun, with the sense "to move hurriedly with quick short steps". English derivatives include scurrying; related forms include hurry-scurry. The result is an English verb and noun whose etymology preserves the older forms while supporting the word's specialized modern meaning.

## Topics
- Actions & Processes
- Word Formation & Derivatives

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