SCUFFLE

Pronunciation (US):

(GB):

IPA (US):

 Dictionary entry overview: What does scuffle mean? 

• SCUFFLE (noun)
  The noun SCUFFLE has 3 senses:

1. disorderly fighting

2. a hoe that is used by pushing rather than pulling

3. an unceremonious and disorganized struggle

  Familiarity information: SCUFFLE used as a noun is uncommon.

• SCUFFLE (verb)
  The verb SCUFFLE has 2 senses:

1. walk by dragging one's feet

2. fight or struggle in a confused way at close quarters

  Familiarity information: SCUFFLE used as a verb is rare.

 Dictionary entry details 

• SCUFFLE (noun)

Sense 1

Meaning:

Disorderly fighting

Classified under:

Nouns denoting acts or actions

Synonyms:

dogfight; hassle; rough-and-tumble; scuffle; tussle

Hypernyms ("scuffle" is a kind of...):

combat; fight; fighting; scrap (the act of fighting; any contest or struggle)

Derivation:

scuffle (fight or struggle in a confused way at close quarters)

Sense 2

Meaning:

A hoe that is used by pushing rather than pulling

Classified under:

Nouns denoting man-made objects

Synonyms:

Dutch hoe; scuffle; scuffle hoe

Hypernyms ("scuffle" is a kind of...):

hoe (a tool with a flat blade attached at right angles to a long handle)

Sense 3

Meaning:

An unceremonious and disorganized struggle

Classified under:

Nouns denoting acts or actions

Synonyms:

scramble; scuffle

Hypernyms ("scuffle" is a kind of...):

battle; struggle (an energetic attempt to achieve something)

Derivation:

scuffle (fight or struggle in a confused way at close quarters)

• SCUFFLE (verb)

Present simple: I / you / we / they scuffle    ... he / she / it scuffles   
Past simple: scuffled   
Past participle: scuffled   
-ing form: scuffling   

Sense 1

Meaning:

Walk by dragging one's feet

Classified under:

Verbs of walking, flying, swimming

Synonyms:

scuffle; shamble; shuffle

Context example:

We heard his feet shuffling down the hall

Hypernyms (to "scuffle" is one way to...):

walk (use one's feet to advance; advance by steps)

Troponyms (each of the following is one way to "scuffle"):

drag; scuff (walk without lifting the feet)

Sentence frame:

Somebody ----s PP

Sentence example:

The children scuffle to the playground

Sense 2

Meaning:

Fight or struggle in a confused way at close quarters

Classified under:

Verbs of touching, hitting, tying, digging

Synonyms:

scuffle; tussle

Context example:

the drunken men started to scuffle

Hypernyms (to "scuffle" is one way to...):

contend; fight; struggle (be engaged in a fight; carry on a fight)

Sentence frame:

Somebody ----s

Derivation:

scuffle (an unceremonious and disorganized struggle)

scuffle (disorderly fighting)

 Context examples 

He dogs the fellow, he sees him enter a house, he waits outside for him, and in the scuffle he receives his own death-wound.

(The Return of Sherlock Holmes, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)

There was a sudden rush and a scuffle, followed by the clash of iron and a cry of pain.

(His Last Bow, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)

The sound of blows and scuffling came to our ears.

(The Sea-Wolf, by Jack London)

In the meantime, we had no idea what to do to help the captain, nor any other thought but that he had got his death-hurt in the scuffle with the stranger.

(Treasure Island, by Robert Louis Stevenson)

In the scuffle, your son struck Sir George and cut him over the eye.

(The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)

He had not gained the crown of the slope, when he heard a sudden scuffle behind him and a feeble voice bleating for help.

(The White Company, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)

His whole existence was a scuffle.

(David Copperfield, by Charles Dickens)

And near to him he heard the scuffle of a mighty Slavonian hunter, loath to die, and, half uprisen, borne back and down by the thirsty spears.

(Love of Life and Other Stories, by Jack London)

A scuffle broke out in the back benches, and blows were freely exchanged among the medical students who crowded that part of the hall.

(The Lost World, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)

To their ears came the sounds of dogs wrangling and scuffling, the guttural cries of men, the sharper voices of scolding women, and once the shrill and plaintive cry of a child.

(White Fang, by Jack London)