scuffle
/ˈskʌfəl/
Word Rarity
Rare
Frequency: Zipf frequency 2.79 in modern English
15
Scrabble Score
7
Letters
2
Syllables
6
Unique Chars
Meaning
noun
A rough, disorderly fight or struggle at close quarters.
Example Sentences
- "The Dog leaps upon the Serpent, and Tears it to Pieces; but in the Scuffle the Cradle happen'd to be Overturn'd: […]"
- "It appears the Company had received news that one of their captains had been killed in a scuffle with the natives."
- "Fights ensued as many England supporters attempted to retreat before some stewards moved in. Intermittent scuffles continued to break out until the section of the crowd where the trouble started was vacated."
- "But even on the scuffle / The cleaner's press was in my jeans"
- "Certainly a gallant man had rather fight to great diſadvantages for number and place in the field in an orderly way, then ſcuffle with an undiſciplined rabble."
- "But shiftings and readjustments ensued, as they are sure to do with a walking-party. Cope presently found himself scuffling through the thin grass and the briery thickets alongside the young business-man."
Etymology
Possibly of North Germanic/Scandinavian origin; compare Swedish skuff (“a push”) and skuffa (“to push”), from the Proto-Germanic base *skuf- (skuƀ), from Proto-Indo-European *skewbʰ-, see also Lithuanian skùbti (“to hurry”), Polish skubać (“to pluck”), Albanian humb (“to lose”).
Origin
Word Breakdown
- Root: -, *skewbʰ-, schoffel
Regional Pronunciation
- British English: /ˈskʌfəl/