scram
/skɹæm/
Frequency: Zipf frequency 2.35 in modern English
Meaning
verb
To shut down (a nuclear reactor or, by extension, some other thing) for safety reasons, usually because of an emergency.
Transitive verb
verb
Of a nuclear reactor or some other thing: to shut down, usually because of an emergency.
Intransitive verb
noun
A shutdown of a nuclear reactor (or, by extension, some other thing), often done rapidly due to an emergency.
noun
The device used to shut down a nuclear reactor; also, the button or switch used to initiate a shutdown.
verb
To mine for ore on a small scale, especially from mines previously been worked on where most of the ore is believed to have been removed.
American usage; Archaic; Transitive verb
Example Sentences
- "What are you kids doing on my lawn? Scram!"
- "Maybe when he found that Chet's jalopy was gone, he felt he'd better scram, and forgot the coat and hat."
- "The boy who was playing glowered at the intruder and growled. "Well, scram Kibitzer; scram.""
- ""Come on!" barked Harry. "Scram!""
- "Jus' go on like we was gonna buck barley the rest of our lives, then all of a sudden some day we'll go get our pay an' scram outta here."
- ""You scram out of here!" she admonished me fiercely. "Get out, or I'll scream so loud I'll wake the whole house up! You—you Peeping Tom!""
Etymology
Origin
Word Breakdown
Regional Pronunciation
- American English: /skɹæm/
- British English: /skɹæm/
Usage
- Intransitive verb
- Slang
- Transitive verb
- American usage
- Archaic
- British usage
- Countable
- Uncountable
Subject
Wiktionary places this term in Physics.